


Stoking the flames

by BrightestSun



Series: Stoking the Flames [1]
Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Angels, Centaurs, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Multi, Original Story - Freeform, Original work - Freeform, Polyamory, Rakdos cultist having fun, Ravnica, Romance, Trans Character, cityscape fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-03-29 12:10:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19019656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightestSun/pseuds/BrightestSun
Summary: "A literal fucking angel walks into precinct 6, wanna know the punchline? So did I, so I ended up getting caught up in this whole mess of family drama. All in all, pretty good day."Pyre, a pleasure-seeking circus performer with a complicated past (like just about every other part of her deadly circus), seeks a bit of comfort in the world, making friends, lovers and maybe healing a little as she goes along.This story takes place in Ravnica, one of the MTG settings, but uses none of the canon characters. I like the world and wanted to write a story inspired by it, but I generally consider it an original work rather than MTG fanfiction.





	1. Bird's eye view

_A literal fucking angel walks into precinct 6, wanna know the punchline? So did I, so I ended up getting caught up in this whole mess of family drama. All in all, pretty good day._

 

The imps hissed and screamed in anger, their little fanged mouths spitting their anger in Pyre’s direction. The clown didn’t flinch, she chuckled to herself as she watched them retreat from her approaching steps. Blood spilled from wounds, throwing daggers still sticking like spines from a few of their skins, warning shots, mostly, Pyre didn’t make a habit out of killing imps, the retaliation was always a total nuisance.

One of them managed to build up enough rage to spit venom at her. “ _ WE FOUND HER! WE CAUGHT HER! SHE’S OURS _ !”

Pyre chuckled sadistically, silencing him with another dagger to his shoulder. Imps were very resilient, made them fun for shooting practice, and they respected strength so they didn’t tend to retaliate if you just cut them up some, overall convenient little critters. “Well, clearly you aren’t strong enough to keep her, so she’s mine now.”

Three of them allowed their seething rage to get the better of them, charging at the leather-clad woman and receiving a series of well-placed jabs and cuts for their trouble. She punched one of them so hard his wings gave out and he started sinking to the ground. Just for kicks,  _ get it? _ she decided to land a solid kick to the imp midair, sending him hurtling like a football over some fences, the crashing sounds on the other side suggested he’d hit a moving cart and broke a wheel, the ensuing madness could be heard unfolding on the other side like an artsy theater experience where you couldn’t see the stage.  _ I should DO one of those…  _ She pondered, listening to the carnage gleefully.

The imps finally scurried off, spitting in her general direction and making rude gestures. Pyre turned to her price, lying under ropes, completely coiled in the twisting patterns, like snakes that tightened whenever she tried to free herself. One of her eyes was barely visible through the thin slit in her helmet, filled to the brim with anger, fear, and desperation. Her wings tried moving against the restraints but it seemed only to entangle her further, had an angel ever looked so deliciously pathetic before?

“So-“ Pyre began playfully placing her elbow against the woman’s armored shoulder, leaning down over her forced kneeling form, “Come here often?”

The angel’s growl could rival that of the imps, “Whatever you’re planning, Rakdos, you won’t get away with it.” She snarled.

“Rakdos? Nah, he’s real big and ugly, but I can see how you’d get confused, probably too used to looking down on people to be able to tell the difference between any of us.” She played with one of the ropes, running a blade against it, “I mean, I  _ was  _ planning on letting you go, but if you say I won’t get away with it, maybe I should just leave you like this.”

The angel paused, her eye betraying her shock before it turned into a scowl again, “I won’t play your games, I know you’re planning something terr-“ She was interrupted as the rope gave way, Pyre quickly cutting the three that was giving her the most trouble. The angel got to her feet instantly, stepping away from Pyre and drawing her sword, waving it towards her. She didn’t look like she wanted to fight, rather, she looked like one big question she wasn’t able to formulate.

Pyre chuckled, “Don’t think about it too hard, I can’t stand rape, whether it’s you or anyone else. I happened to pass through and could see the writing on the wall. What the cult offers should be given to the willing, not forced on outsiders who aren’t ready for it. So, whatever.” She shrugged, picking up a few of her blades from the ground and turning to leave.

“Wait!” The angel looked a little shocked as Pyre turned curiously, she’d clearly acted before she’d realized what she wanted to say. Pyre looked at the squirming woman with interest as she struggled with something, the carney felt her heart skipping a beat, this woman was unfair levels of adorable. “I… I’m looking for someone. He’s supposed to have joined the cult of Rakdos many years ago. I… I can pay you if you help me find him.”

Pyre cocked her head to the side, “Why would I sell out one of my own? The cult gets a bad rap but we do have a sense of camaraderie you know.”

“It’s not like that… His brother is looking for him. Things ended badly between them but now he hopes they can find a way to rekindle their relationship.” Pyre couldn’t see the angel’s mouth, but her eyes shone with a bright smile, she was a romantic, she was in love with the idea of relighting this brotherly love, _ arrgh she was too cute! _

“So why didn’t the brother come himself?” She scratched under her jester's hat in mild annoyance.

The angel sighed, “it’s complicated. Basically, even though he joined Boros, there are still many who don’t know if they can trust him. If he was seen around precinct six, others would take it as proof that he’s up to no good.”

“So he send his pet bird instead?”

Her scowl returned, “I am no one’s pet, and he didn’t send me. He… He told me the situation but acknowledged that it was hopeless. But… I felt like I had to try.”

Pyre blinked, this woman was an idiot, a cute, strong and literally angelic idiot, fuck, she was going to help her, wasn’t she? “So what’s your plan? How are you going to find him?”

 

“I have his name, I was going to ask around for him.”

 

Pyre felt her shoulders sink, her eyes widening in disbelief, “ _ Really? _ Wow… You are just… wow. You know like 90% of us use stage names and abandon our old ones, right? And what, you think the cult is going to help a Boros angel? You are like, the second least likely person most of us would want to help! Right after the Azorious scumbags!”

 

The angel’s face fell in a pout, “I… I guess you’re right… It was stupid of me, and see what happened.” She scoffed at herself, completely crestfallen. 

 

_ ‘Ugggggh why must you be like this…!’  _ Pyre pulled at the tails on her hat in frustration, “what’s his name?” She asked in a defeated tone.

 

“What?”

 

“I might happen to know him, I know most folks, maybe I just happen to know him.”

 

“Why would you help me?”

 

“Because, and Rakdos take me, I desperately need to know how this story ends. Plus you said you’d pay me, don’t think I forgot.”

 

The angel blinked surprised, then her shoulders relaxed, her sword finally being sheathed, she was smiling so warmly with her eyes, it made Pyre feel like she was melting. “His name is Amon, William Amon, he was born into the Azorious Senate, but both his brother and he found it oppressive, William left years before his brother was able to wrest free, leaving your family behind isn’t easy… It was harder for Lance than for his brother it seems. His most defining feature is his silver hair. The Amon family have actual metallic hair.”

 

Pyre looked at her with a bewildered expression, she couldn’t help but snicker.

 

“What?”

 

“I know that person.”

 

“Really!?” The angel's eyes shone brightly through the helmet, “Do you know where he is?”

 

“More or less, I know where Ember’s gonna be anyway, we live together.”

 

“Really? That’s amazing! Will you take me to meet him!?” She rushed forward to grab Pyre’s hand, clenching it gently. 

 

“You know… a bit of healthy skepticism would really suit you. What if I was leading you into some kind of trap?”

 

“Are you?”

 

She scoffed exasperatedly, “No, why would I tell you to watch out for traps if I was going to lead you into one!?”

 

“So then it all works out doesn’t it?” She beamed through the helmet, causing Pyre’s heart to skip another beat, this angel was trouble. 

 

“Uggh… Can’t argue with that kind of logic… don’t even know how to start. So, what’s your name?”

 

“Oh uhm… I don’t really have one, I’m C-31-MN, I guess you can call me C, that’s what Lance does.”

 

“Angels don’t have names? That can’t be right, I know of a ton of angels with names. Why don’t you have one?”

 

“A name is a privilege of sorts, it’s something you only earn as you achieve the rank of captain. If you’ve really managed to impress the sisterhood, you might be granted a name by Aurelia herself.” She said dreamily. 

 

“Hm… C, M, N, I’m gonna call you Carmen.”

 

Carmen’s eyes widened, “You can’t just-”

 

“It’s that or Semen, take it or leave it.” She stuck out her tongue playfully. 

 

Carmen clenched her fist then sighed in defeat, “Fine, whatever, it’s not like it matters what you call me.”

 

Pyre shrugged, “If it doesn’t matter what I call you, should I go with Semen?”

 

An uncomfortable sound escaped from under the helmet, “Carmen, please.” She said defeated, “So what’s your name?”

 

Pyre chuckled in amusement, “I have a few names, you can call me Pyre.” She winked. 

 

Pyre took the time to play around with her new friend. She got a massive coat for the angel, one that would (albeit uncomfortably) hide the woman’s wings and armor, making her head look humorously small in comparison. The Carney couldn’t help but watch with powerful interest as she saw the angel removing her helmet. Her hair looked to be gold, literal gold, her features were sharp and powerful, her eyes piercing green but kind and warm. 

 

“Are you sure William is going to be here?” Carmen looked over the carnival booths and festivities, a parody of the festivals she’d seen in the upper precincts. Normal carnivals were places for children to enjoy and play in, places with fun and color, this was a place of debauchery and sin, and yet children were still running about, clearly having the time of their lives in spite of the rampant sin which surrounded them. The angel felt a powerful shiver through her as she saw humans digging nails into their bodies, imps pulling at hooks in the skin of ogres, people… literally fornicating in the streets. She felt nauseous. 

 

Pyre shrugged, “should be, was going to go here anyway. And it’s Ember, using names we didn’t choose ourselves against our wishes is cruel, Carmen.” She winked as she spoke the last word. 

 

Carmen could only sigh, starting to feel like she was being dragged around to whatever the little woman wanted to do. She’d been warned that she was going to maybe be deceived, and now she was starting to feel like maybe that was the case, the woman had taken her money and now seemed to be indulging herself in games, food and new clothes while having fun torturing the angel. 

 

“Here, give it a go.” Pyre smiled encouragingly at the angel, offering her a metal band for a ringtoss game. Pyre’d already won effortlessly, winning a large stuffed plush of Rakdos the demon lord, which seemed in ill taste. 

 

“Why? We have stuff to do, we can’t lollygag around like hooligans.”

 

Pyre chuckled, “Why not? I mean, I  _ am  _ a hooligan in case you hadn’t noticed. Come on, it wouldn’t hurt you to have some fun once in awhile right? What’s the last thing you did just for fun?”

 

“I do stuff for fun!” She snapped defensively. “I got to file the reports on the last Gruul incursion, it’s not normally my job but I got to do it.” She said proudly.

 

“Enjoying your job is fine, but it’s not the same as doing something just for fun. When you have nothing to gain and no one cares if you do it or not, and you choose to do something that just makes you happy, that’s the kind of fun I’m talking about.”

 

“But you seem to care.” She smiled smugly.

 

Pyre laughed, “You got me there, consider it having training wheels. Come  _ ooon _ , just one game, then we’ll go find Ember, I promise!”

 

“That’s what you said before you got that… excuse for sustenance.”

 

Pyre looked at the mystery meat on her stick, half-eaten, “It’s delicious though, better than usual, might be human instead of rat.” She winked to Carmen’s horror.

 

“You’re… joking of course… Right?”

 

Pyre shrugged, “Probably best not to ask questions you don’t want the answers to cutie.” She chuckled at the disgust twisting on the angels face, discomfort visibly running through the pure woman’s body.

 

“Just one game and then we’ll find Willi- uhm… ‘Ember’?” She asked defeated, desperate to change the topic. 

 

Pyre shrugged, “let's see… Oh, how about this, if you hit one out of three, we’ll go, if not, you have to try another game.” 

 

Carmen scowled at the clown whose smile broadened in response. “Ugh… Fine, I’ll play along, but my patience is growing thin.” Carmen was certain that hitting the ring should be an easy task, the angel was rather dexterous and precise, though her training valued pure strength over such things. Still, she should be at least above average, she was an angel, she could easily do something like this.

 

She grit her teeth as the 12th ring bounced off the bottleneck like a stone skipping on water. Her voice rang out in frustration, it was such a stupid game! Why couldn’t she do it!? She looked at the little cultist standing beside her, her amusement clear across her features, she was playing with the large Rakdos plushy, as if hammering in her superiority. 

 

“It’s impossible! The ring doesn’t fit!” She growled at the little woman.

 

“Then how’d I do it?”

 

“You… You cheated somehow!”

 

Pyre let out an exaggerated gasp, “Carmen! That you’d accuse me of such a thing. Trickery? Me!?” 

 

“So you  _ did  _ cheat!” 

 

Pyre chuckled, “I didn’t, here, let me show you.” She moved behind Carmen, bringing her arms around her waist and grabbing hold of her wrists. “You have to angle the ring so it’s flying like this, then hit it with more force than you’d expect, get a straight trajectory.” She moved Carmen’s body instructing, though she hadn’t needed to be standing like this, but she enjoyed putting her arms around the woman feeling the heavy armor underneath the clothes.

  
  


Carmen was happy to be leaving the fair, she’d never seen such debauchery. Before this, she’d only had a vague idea of how humans… performed certain tasks, now she felt she’d seen enough to last her the eternity of her lifetime. She was holding a little plush of a Rakdos performer, little button eyes and a jesters cap made it resemble the woman next to her. She didn’t want it, but she couldn’t get herself to just throw it away. Maybe she’d drop it somewhere on the way home.

 

“Hey, settle a bet for me.” Pyre piped up, snapping the angel out of her thoughts. “Can you have sex?” She asked nonchalantly, hands behind her head.

 

Carmen burst out in a small coughing fit. “Beg your pardon?!”

 

“Well, demons have naughty bits cause they’re naughty, right? But they can’t have kids, angels are the same way, but they aren’t exactly naughty, so why would they need anything down there?” She took the small doll out of Carmen’s hand, removing its shorts, “I mean, you’d think you’d just be smooth like… Hm… some pervert sowed genitals on this puppet, A for effort.” She handed it back to Carmen who didn’t want to take it, especially knowing something like that, but her body reached out to receive it out of habit, making her stuck with it again. She cursed her inherent politeness.

 

Carmen walked in silence for a bit, the pressing nothingness between them quickly becoming palpable to her. She hated silence like this, hated the feeling of such a question lingering in the air. She grit her teeth, “Not that it’s any of your business, but we can, most of us simply don’t. But there are angels who love and express their love like this.” She tried to sound professional but she could tell her face was burning. 

 

“Cool, that’s good to know. If’n you ever want to try ‘expressing your love’, feel free to come find me, I’d love to take you for a spin.”

 

"I’ll politely decline." The angel could feel her patience thinning with every joke.

 

“Your loss, tell me if you change your mind. Cutie like you, you can’t imagine what I’d do to you… But I have some ideas...” 

 

“Enough!” Carmen turned to grab hold of the little clown, hammering her against the wall behind her. 

 

“Oh, kinky…” Pyre licked her lips teasingly at the angel who felt her seething anger boiling over.

 

“You’ve run me around this accursed precinct long enough, tell me where William Amon is or I’ll… Make you regret it!”

 

“Scary.” Pyre chuckled, realizing Carmen’d brought her face very close, she stole a quick peck at the cheek. “Fine, fine, I was about done anyway. Just… Enjoyed my time with you, you’re fun hanging around with.” 

 

Carmen let her go, “The feeling isn’t exactly mutual. Please take me to him.”

 

Pyre frowned, “You didn’t have even a little fun? Your triumphant roar when you finally got the ring toss was so cute, I thought you’d at least enjoyed that.”

 

Carmen scratched the back of her neck, something about the woman’s expression made her think that there was something going on underneath that jester's hat, something vulnerable. She sighed, “I suppose it was a little fun. But I don’t plan to make a habit of it.”

 

Pyre smiled softly, it actually looked like a genuine smile for a moment, there was something somber about Pyre’s expression. Maybe she was actually very lonely? Carmen realized that the clown hadn’t really gained anything from running her around town, and seemed happy to know that Carmen had enjoyed her time with her. The Cult of Rakdos was all about personal pleasure, everything was about themselves, but… That might not leave much time for just feeling a human connection with someone, the way Carmen realized that they had over the last few hours, if only a little. “... For what it’s worth, I enjoyed getting to know you Pyre. You’re… interesting. When you aren’t making lewd or rude jokes. Or when you aren’t just doing whatever to make yourself feel good.”

 

Pyre smiled back “I’m glad. You’re interesting too when you forget for a second to put literally everyone else before yourself. Who knows, there might be a healthy person somewhere between our two extremes.”

 

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’m the model of health!”

 

“Hah! Keep telling yourself that, doormat.”

 

“Better than being a hedonistic child.”

 

“Beg to differ, I love being me.” She grinned broadly, then paused, her expression becoming somber again, her smile fading. “That’s why I don’t love thinking about the person I was before. I was very different and… Thinking about the past, meeting people from there… It’s honestly scary… I know my family would hate who I’ve become, probably my brother too… I’m not wild about the idea of meeting them, you know?”

 

Carmen nodded slowly, “I understand… I should keep that in mind when meeting Ember, that, of course, there’s a reason he ran away, and that he might not like the idea of meeting Lance.”

 

The carney nodded with a sigh, “you’ve already met Ember. She’s this weird hedonist child, you must have seen her.”

 

Carmen furrowed her brow, “I don’t… I don’t understand. The person I’m looking for is a man, he used to be named William, I couldn’t have been more clear!”

 

Pyre waved her hand gently towards Carmen to calm her, “People used to say I was a boy… Before I was Pyre or Ember for that matter. It’s cause I have a dick you see, that they rudely assumed.”

 

Carmen shifted her weight a little, her head cocking from one side to the other in confusion. 

 

Pyre rolled her eyes, “What I’m saying is that I used to be William Amon before I was Pyre. Lance is my brother.”

 

“That… That can’t be right!” Carmen grit her teeth in beginning anger but Pyre calmed her again.

 

“I can prove it I think. Here-” She removed her hat, her black and red hair spilling out from under it. She brushed her fingers through it. “You have some healing magic right?”

 

“A small amount… All angels do, but it’s not my area.”

 

“That’s fine. Heal my hair.” She ran a hand through the inky mess, the stripes of red making it match her strange outfit.

 

“Beg your pardon?”

 

“It’s dyed, obviously. And I’ve learned the hard way that healing magic removes the dye, it’s seriously annoying. Go ahead, just a small amount should do it.”

 

Carmen wasn’t sure what to believe anymore, she certainly didn’t think there was any way that this carney woman was Lance’s brother. But she complied anyway. The black and red colors faltering to her touch, revealing long strands of gentle silver, the hair color sported naturally by the Amon family, and almost no one else, at least no humans. The angel removed her hand hesitantly, “I… I’m still not sure I believe you, it could be a trick…!”

 

Pyre chuckled, “Hey look at you, learning to be wary. But it’s no trick. After I told my mom that I wanted to be a girl, she flipped out. She basically imprisoned me in my own house and kept me there. So well, I decided to run away. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Lance about it, I didn’t think he’d understand either. But… If he joined Boros and wants to see me then…” She sighed deeply, “I want to see him too.” Pyre looked to Carmen’s weary and still confused expression, “still not convinced?”

 

“I’m… I’m not sure what to believe. I mean… It’s hard to swallow.”

 

Pyre was about to make a crude joke but stopped herself. “I have at least one more piece of proof, this one a little harder to just ignore.” She held out her hand and a spell circle emerged in the air around it. A powerful blue and white collection of runes surrounding the pyramid shape of the Azorious symbol. 

 

Carmen looked at the magic with a baffled expression. It wasn’t just a powerful spell, it looked exactly like Lance’s. The two women exchanged looks as the spell fizzled into Pyre’s closing hand. “I think that’s about the only proof I have, unless you want to confirm the penis thing, I wouldn’t mind showing you.” She winked. 

 

“That’s not necessary.” Carmen responded with defensive professionalism. “But… It’s hard to take in. … I believe you. I’m glad I found you, and I’m glad to confirm that Lance’s brother-”

 

“-sister.”

 

“Sister, right. -that she’s a good person.” She smiled warmly.

 

Pyre scoffed, “What makes you think I’m a good person?” 

 

“You saved me, you didn’t have to, but you did. And behind your jokes and jabs, I can tell that you’re kind.”

 

Pyre averted her eyes, “Only reason I saved you was because I thought it might be fun to know whatever reason an angel was in the 6th. Don’t flatter yourself.”

 

“You also gave the Rakdos doll you won to some children.” The angel made no attempt to hide the amusement at Pyre’s defensive responses.

 

“It was heavy! I didn’t want to carry around a useless thing like that. I literally kill people you know!?” 

 

Carmen chuckled, “Whatever you say.”

 

Pyre groaned, rolling her eyes. “Fine, whatever, just take me to Lance so he can tell me I’m a pervert and we can all move on with our lives.”

 

“He won’t do that. He misses you terribly.”

 

“Whatever…” 

  
  
  


Lance’s apartment was within the castle walls of the Boros headquarters. Carmen had said that they still weren’t sure if he could be trusted. It spoke to the frail nature of the alliance between Boros and Azorious, that while on paper the two of them worked closely together, Boros knew to be weary of the trickier, more authoritarian guild. Pyre remembered her parents complaining to their friends about Boros when she was younger,  _ “they carry out their own form of justice and often break the rules and we’re just supposed to look the other way because they thought it was the ‘right thing to do’!? They are one step away from joining the Gruul clans whom they claim to protect us from.”  _ The thought was kind of nice honestly, the idea that Boros and Gruul could join forces and stand up for justice, not the law, but real justice.

 

“You clean up nice.” Carmen’s warm words snapped Pyre out of her thoughts. 

 

She gave a nonchalant smile.”I always look good, no matter what I wear.” She brushed her silver hair behind her ear, making sure her long blue dress was sitting properly. It had been a few years since she stopped wearing this dress, stopped wearing clothes not made of leather in general, and it was certainly a little tight in a few places. Still, it fit alright. 

 

“Behind all that makeup and leather I couldn’t tell, but seeing you like this I can see the resemblance to Lance.” 

 

“Mom always said we shared a nose.” She shrugged, “But if you say we look too alike I might be offended.”

 

“How so? You look like the womanly version of him basically, and you’re both pretty short.” 

 

Pyre cleared her throat, “I guess I can live with that.” She adjusted her seams again.

 

“Not used to wearing dresses?”

 

“Used to be the only thing I wore, just didn’t have anything ‘appropriate’ in my cupboard. Haven’t worn dresses for years so… But apparently it’d be ‘weird’ for a Rakdos cultist to walk around Boros, and I wouldn’t want to cause a scene.” She made no effort to hide her distaste.

 

“Oh don’t be like that. It’s important to dress right for the right thing.”

 

“Like wearing a full shining armor when going looking for a Rakdos Cultist?”

 

Carmen cleared her throat “I… I suppose I might have worn something less… conspicuous.”

 

“Haha, do you  _ own  _ anything like that? Any normal clothes at all?”

 

“Not as such, no.” She admitted, “I have two different sets of armor and a few different kinds of banners and ornaments to suit my mood but… No, nothing ‘casual’. 

 

“I’m sure you’d clean up nicely too. Oh! You’d look so good in some black and red leather.” She winked, “I’ll wear a fancy armor, fair trade right?”

 

“Goodness no! Much as I’d like to see you in armor like that, I just can’t… Well… I just can’t.” She chuckled to herself at the idea, “Oh! Do you have an Amon armor? Your family’s supposed to be able to conjure metal from their bodies, the armors you create are legendary!” Her eyes shone with childlike excitement.

 

“I have one, but I haven’t used it since I quit Azorious, I found a method for using the Amon steel that I like  _ way _ better.” She tugged at her wrist and produced a wicked spiked chain from it. 

 

Carmen’s eyes widened, “But… Lance said it hurt quite a bit to conjure the metal, especially when making something beyond the armor.”

 

Pyre laughed, “Oh it hurts, a lot sometimes, but I’ve spent enough years in Rakdos to enjoy it, pain is delicious if you know how to thrive on it.”

 

Carmen gave her a concerned look. “well… It’s rather impressive honestly, and with what I know of the Amon steel it’s likely very effective. But it’s partially made of your blood right, won’t you pass out?”

 

“Frequently. But you know, no pain no gain. Haven’t died yet.” 

 

Carmen’s concerned look grew more extreme. “So… Are you excited about meeting Lance?”

 

Pyre grew quiet, her hands finding the pockets of the jacket she wore over her dress, “Not as such… I’m sure it’ll be awkward as fuck and everyone will leave disappointed.”

 

“But you came anyway.”

 

“You practically dragged me.”

 

“I didn’t, you wanted to go. You miss your brother don’t you?”

 

Pyre went quiet again. “... Nah, nothing like that. Just hoping if I spend enough time with you you’ll give me a kiss.” 

 

“Not good at talking about your feelings?”

 

“I’m more than willing to share my feelings on you.” She winked.

 

“Lance does that too. Well… Not like that. But he’s not the best at sharing his feelings either. I think you’d be happier if you said what you felt, instead of what you think people expect from you.”

 

Pyre ground her teeth for a second. “Got the hots for my brother then?”

 

“Nothing like that. He’s admirable and kind. I enjoy his company, but angels rarely have ‘the hots’ for anyone. I don’t desire your brother that way.”

 

“And me? This doing it for you? Or did you prefer me in leather and chains?” 

 

She chuckled, “You know, I don’t think Lance will be as surprised with you as you imagine. He told me his brother liked men, that that’s why you left the family.”

 

Pyre’s eyes widened, “Why the fuck’d he think that?”

 

“Supposedly a friend of his saw you flirting with men at a pub and told him, then not long after that, your mom started freaking out about you, and then you left. That’s how he told it anyway, guess he pieced it together himself.”

 

“Oh… That’s not quite what happened…” She thought for a moment, “He knew that and he still sent you after me?”

 

“Yes, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with your liking men. He told me he sympathized, that he understood after you left that it must have been hard for you.” 

 

“... There were parts that sucked.” She admitted, “But… I’m really glad I left. But I wasn’t really flirting just... experimenting, experiencing being a woman.”

 

“By flirting with older men?”

 

“By allowing cute guys to buy me drinks and give me compliments. It was… Nice.” 

 

“I’m sure your brother will understand.”

 

“Maybe… Ugh… Let’s just get this over with!”


	2. Returning to the nest

“C! Where have you been? It’s not like you to just disappear off somewhere.” Lance hadn’t changed much, he’d been 17 when Pyre saw him last and now he was…  _ ugh, math…  _ somewhere approaching 30, but he still looked like himself. His thick silvery beard made him look ridiculous and he seriously hadn’t changed his short haircut from back then? His armor was pristine and beautiful as always but adorned with symbols of the Legion instead of the Syndicate. Colors of Red instead of blue which clashed with the silver a little. 

 

“Maybe you should keep her on a leash, that way she won’t run off on you. Oh! Or a big birdcage.”

 

Lance looked with surprise at Pyre who had drawn up her hood defensively. He smiled after a moment, “Maybe I should. But given that I’d like people around here to like me, I don’t think that would work well for me in the long run.”

 

“If you asked nicely I’m sure they’d let you have a nice shiny mirror you could look in. I’m sure that’d keep you entertained.”

 

Lance looked her over for a minute, taking her in. “C, who's your friend? I like her.”

 

Carmen cleared her throat. “Uh well, this is-”

 

“-Your sister. Carmen went behind your back to find me, thought she’d surprise you, maybe get that kiss she always wanted.”

 

“That!” Carmen looked flustered between Lance and Pyre, “That is a grievous misrepresentation of the truth Lance, I promise that’s not my reason!”

 

“So you admit you went behind his back?”

 

“I…!” Carmen froze, realizing as she watched the sly smile on Pyre’s face that she’d fallen into the woman’s trap. She sighed deeply, standing up straight, recomposing herself.

 

“I don’t have a sister.” Lance scratched the back of his neck, “Not that I know of anyway. She wouldn’t be this old regardless.”

 

“You do have a sister. You just foolishly thought she was your brother for a while.” Pyre took a deep breath before allowing her hood to fall back to fully reveal her face. She let Lance take a moment to take her in. 

 

“... William!?” 

 

“I go by Pyre. Haven’t used that name in almost 10 years. I’d like it if you followed suit.”

 

“But… It really  _ is  _ you? You… Wow, you don’t look much different.”

 

“Bite your tongue, I was pretty at 14, now, I am gorgeous.” She struck a pose, running her fingers through her hair. “Though I look a lot better in my normal clothes.”

 

“I think you mean abnormal.” Carmen shot in. 

 

“What? Leather and metal is the finest in Rakdos couture. And I wear it well.”

 

Lance’s shoulders sank, “You joined Rakdos? William Tha-”

 

“-Pyre.” She cut him off, her eyes glaring fire at him.

 

Lance cleared his throat, “Pyre, the Cult of Rakdos is extremely dangerous! CULT is literally in the name! Do you know how many Rakdos performers die on stage?”

 

Pyre scoffed, “Better than you I imagine. Do you know anything about the cult that isn’t just hearsay?”

 

“Well… No, but-”

 

“-but nothing! You don’t get to sit here in your fancy castle with your fancy angel girlfriend and tell me what to do! I had to go through a lot of Hell to get where I am, and where I am is happy, finally after all these years, happy. And if you can’t be happy for me then fuck you!”

 

Lance blinked a few times, “Wow… You used to be so meager and shy.”

 

“Yeah well… Guess I had to learn to stand up for myself at some point before the world crushed me.”

 

“I’m glad.” He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, “This isn’t what I thought you’d be doing. I mean, obviously, but I’m glad. I mean, as you said, you’ve finally learned to stand on your own two legs. That’s all I ever wanted for you. I was starting to get worried back then, you seemed permanently glued to my back, I was worried you’d meld into my shadow.”

 

Pyre smiled, “Yea… Guess I got tired of standing in the dark. Now I make my own light, and no one can ignore me.” She held out her hand, conjuring a powerful flame, quickly quenching it by closing her fist around it. 

 

“You were always so good with your little magic tricks. But you never could beat me in swordplay.”

 

“Hah! My ‘tricks’ are the kind of thing that leave Azorious guards pissing their pants and sharing stories of the Blue mana wielding Rakdos. I don’t need swords, not when knives are so much more fun.”

 

Lance’s mouth fell open slightly, “That’s… That’s  _ you _ !? Fuck I heard rumors about someone like that when I was still in the Syndicate.”

 

“Language.” Carmen snapped at him.

 

Lance looked at her with a slight pout, clearly wanting to defend himself by saying ‘she started it’, but managing to stop himself. “Pyre you… How many Azorious guards have you killed?”

 

“I don’t know.” She let out a tired sigh, “like a lot. But I don’t keep score. Not anymore anyway, I stopped counting when it got past 50, but that was a while ago.”

 

Lance let out a deep sigh, “A lot of those people were just trying to make Ravnica a better place, just normal people doing their best.”

 

“And a lot of the people they arrest in my precinct are just normal folk trying to live the best they can with the shitty hand life has dealt them. The abuse they face from these shallow minded ‘peacekeepers’ is inhumane. You wear leather or like sex and suddenly you have shitty people yelling profanities at you as though  _ you’re  _ the problem, and if you defend yourself they go get their Azorious guards. It’s gotten so bad lately that many of us have to look over our shoulders before using blight paper or a bit of chaos magic, blight paper is the kind of thing children play with! Who the fuck do they think they are!?”

 

Lance walked off to the side, staring out over the city below. Precinct four was beautiful but sparsely populated, the Boros castles stretched out underneath him and the white wings of angels soaring between guard towers could be seen everywhere. “You’re right.” He sighed.

 

“I am?”

 

“She is?”

 

“She is. Wi- Pyre and I know better than anyone how the Azorious operate, how they think, and what they are doing to Ravnica. It’s true that there are some amongst them who truly believe in the justice and peace of the world, but most of those join Boros these days, the people who really want to help. Azorious encourages bullies and superior whelps to their ranks, promoting those who enforce even the most unfair rules as though it is the most admirable quality. Pyre,” He turned to her, “I can’t approve of your methods, but in the end, I think you’re right, something has to happen, and it’s just been getting worse lately. That’s why I left and joined Boros. I tried to make things better from the inside but… They aren’t interested in being better, they want to control everything for the sake of making sure everyone is safe.”

 

“What’s the point of safety if it comes at the cost of freedom?” Pyre could feel the fire welling up inside her, not anger, but passion, hearing the brother she used to consider the sun and the moon speak this way was igniting feelings of prideful rebellion. 

 

“The Boros Legion has seen it too. Even they are being sanctioned and limited in their freedom, the guild lead by angels because Azorious fears them. That’s why they are wary of me, they fear I only came to encourage strife between Boros and Azorious, only to then use the opposition I found in Boros in court against them. It’s not unsubstantiated, it’s the kind of thing the Syndicate would do.”

 

“But that’s not why you’re here.” Carmen put a hand on his shoulder. “You really believe in freedom and justice. That should be obvious to anyone.”

 

“Oh, you sexy little birdy… One day a good liar is going to kill you.” Pyre sighed.

 

“I know how to tell the difference between a liar and a true ally!”

 

“No, you don’t.” The siblings agreed in unison. 

 

Carmen shrank a little, “I… I’m sure I’d be able to tell the difference…”

 

Lance and Pyre looked at each other, both of them so different from last they met, but somehow it felt like, with every word spoken between them, the years just melted away and they returned to that bond they had shared before Pyre left. 

 

“I missed you br- sister. I’m so glad to know you’re safe. Or… as safe as a Rakdos cultist can be anyway.”

 

“I missed you too Lance. I’m glad you left Azorious, even if it took you fucking what? 25 years to realize maybe you should!? What the hell man, when I left you should have gotten a clue and run for the hills too. Maybe we could’ve joined Rakdos together, tight leather would look good on you.”

 

“Hah! Be that as it may, I think I’m better off with Boros.” 

 

“Your loss, we have massive orgies, games, fire and neverending fun, often at the same time, what do you have?”

 

“Hm… When you put it that way…” Lance rubbed his chin with exaggerated contemplation.

 

“We have a duty! Without us there’d be no justice in Ravnica we have a strong purpose!” Carmen seemed desperate, maybe not realizing that Lance had been joking. 

 

“I don’t know… fire and orgies sound pretty good…”

 

“And sexy leathersluts, literally tons of them. Several if you count the giants.”

 

“I…! But…!”

 

“Yea Carmen,” Pyre winked at her, “How are you gonna compete with that? Maybe you’d have more members if you wore something  _ less  _ appropriate.” The siblings shared a laugh as Carmen’s face turned redder. 

 

“Don’t worry C,” Lance gave her his boyish smile, “This is where I belong. I won’t let myself get tempted, no matter how many tons of leathersluts my sister uses to entice me.” 

 

“L… Language!” 

 

“Yea Lance, watch your fucking mouth.” 

 

“Hey fuck you!” He grabbed her with his arm around her neck, ruffling her hair with his hand. “I’ll say what I fucking want.”

 

“No don’t, you’ll make mistress angel mad, she might spank you.”

 

“Oh! Doesn’t sound that bad!” 

 

“Hey me first! I need discipline way more than you!”

 

The siblings fell to the ground wrestling while Carmen looked on, confused and a little scared of whatever the conversation had devolved into. She didn’t quite understand what they were talking about, but she knew she didn’t like it. She’d hoped Lance would bring the best out of the strange clown, not the other way around.

 

The siblings got to their feet, sharing a tight hug. “I missed you, sis.”

 

“Missed you too.” Pyre allowed herself to lean in against his hug, realizing how happy she was to feel accepted in this way by a family she thought for sure would all hate her. 

  
Carmen made sure to be quiet, she didn’t want to interrupt the tender moment, but she was smiling broadly, Lance had been so lonely in his seclusion, seeing him like this warmed her heart. Not to mention seeing the brash and frankly, horrifying clown acting like a real person, it assured Carmen that she’d been right in doing this, even if everyone involved had been against it. She couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, maybe she  _ did  _ know how to do things for herself. 


	3. Chapter 3

“So uhm… You have a boyfriend?” Lance was leaned out over his balcony, apparently, he’d picked up smoking. It suited him, offset his princely look, Pyre thought so anyway. She could tell that he was a little uncomfortable asking, the idea of his little brother being ‘like this’ was apparently still something he had to get used to. Not that she was, not really, but it was nice that he was trying. 

 

“Not right now. I’m dating someone from Seleshnya, but they aren’t a boy or a girl.” 

 

Lance blinked, “I’m not sure I get it?”

 

“Well, their name is Nail. They helped me a lot in changing my body. I’ll always be grateful for that. But that’s not why I like them, they are kind and they get me, and they are the type of person with a really sweet face and personality, but a really dirty mind. What’s not to love?” 

 

“still not sure I get it… But that sounds pretty ideal. He have a sister?”

 

“They, and yes, several, but none of them are like them.” Pyre smiled as she watched Lance trying to deconstruct that sentence in his head. “I might have a boyfriend soon if he man’s up enough to ask me. His name is Victor, he’s a Vedalken from Simic.I imagine he’d be a great lay. He’s got like, literal tentacles he’s grafted onto himself. He says it’s to have extra arms for working, but I  _ know  _ he had half a mind to put them to use in the bedroom and I would NOT mind.” She smiled dopily, “He’s really sweet. He’s a total shut-in and he’s the only person I feel comfortable just being quiet with and studying, sort of being my old self a little bit, the parts of me I didn’t hate. Which basically boils down to ‘the kid obsessed with studying’ and that ends the list of things I didn’t hate about William. Victor’s gonna help me change my body to be indistinguishable from a female one, so I’m looking forward to that.” 

 

Lance nodded slowly, “You don’t think it’s a little extreme? I mean, there’s gotta be other guys who like guys right? You don’t have to change everything about yourself to be with someone.”

 

Pyre burst out laughing, “What? You think I changed myself this drastically to prowl for men?” 

 

Lance rubbed his neck awkwardly, “I mean… didn’t you?”

 

Pyre shook her head, “No, didn’t do this for anyone but myself. I always wanted to be a woman, and now I’m finally living it. It’s not about what others think, it’s about what I think. I don’t even think I prefer men in general, but I definitely don’t dislike them.”

 

Lance let out a frustrated sigh, “I feel like I only understand half of what you’re saying. But, I’d like to be part of your life again, if you want to. I’ll get it with time, promise.”

 

“I’d like that. Fuck I’ve missed you…”

 

“Hey, language.” Lance winked at her.

 

“Oh fuck you, apparently you’re the only one who can’t fucking swear.”

 

“Apparently being part of Boros comes with unexpected rules.”

 

“Boo! This is why I didn’t want to join it, knew behind their talk of freedom and justice was just another wall of bureaucracy and bans on swearing.” 

 

“You thought about joining Boros?”

 

Pyre looked out over the city wistfully, “I thought about joining every guild. Rakdos was literally my last choice, well, tied for last with the Swarm. Now I’m finding myself liking both. In the end, they were the only ones who’d let me live the way I wanted, and in Rakdos I learned so much about myself. Honestly, I’m glad it’s where I ended up, even if I’ll probably end up dying during one of my ladder-climbs. Oh well, the life of a Rakdos performer burns bright but quickly, it’s just how it is.” She stuck out her tongue playfully, enjoying Lance’s horrified reaction.

 

He gave her a concerned look, “You take care of yourself right?”

 

Pyre couldn’t help but laugh, “fuck no, but I’m dating a healer so that helps a lot. Both with the scratches and the STD’s I pick up.”

 

“But… aren’t you only dating those two? If Victor’s sick couldn’t you just have him healed…?”

 

“Oh I only date two people, but I sleep with dozens, if not hundreds of people. What’s life without spice? And Rakdos is all about taking that whole spice rack and just crushing it on the floor and rolling around in it. It’s amazing.”

  
  


“That sounds…”   
  


“-fun?”

 

“-crazy.” 

 

“Hah! It can be both! So what about you? dating the hot piece of angelic ass in there?”

 

“C? Hah, I wish. Angels don’t really have relationships like that. We’re friends, but it’s not like that you know? Why do you call her Carmen?”

 

“Cause I refuse to call her C.”   
  
“I’m sure she hates you calling her that.”   
  


“Hah, I’m sure she does.”

 

“You shouldn’t bully her, she’s sensitive you know.”

 

“I don’t know about that. I don’t think she is, she’s tougher than she looks, otherwise, it wouldn’t be fun to mess with her... God, she’s pretty!” Pyre let her head fall to the stone balcony with a dissatisfied groan. “If you’re not gonna try getting under that armor, I fucking might.”

 

“I don’t think you’re her type.”

 

“I’m everyone’s type, it sneaks up on you.” She winked, “I really will try to take a spin on her you know.”

 

“Feel free, I’d love to see you fail at something for once in your life.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“That I grew up with a 4 years younger brother who could do no wrong.”

 

“Sister.”

 

“You were my brother at the time.”

 

She shook her head, “I was always a girl Lance,  _ you  _ just didn’t know it yet.”

 

He scratched his beard, “Alright, I’ll try to remember that. You’ll forgive me if I make the mistake though right?”

 

She shook her head, “I will literally cut you next time.” She conjured a blade from her palm.

 

Lance’s eyes widened, “Doesn’t that hurt?”

 

“Delightfully so.” She chuckled, seeing shock spreading across his face. 


	4. Rustic study

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now for something a little different. 
> 
> I'll add the next part of the interaction with Carmen on saturday, for now I wanted to add a few more characters into the mix, let Pyre show a bit more who she is (and used to be) around other people. Hope it's still enjoyable !

_ Thought I had a type: strong, dangerous and commanding, but I think I have to reevaluate that. Thought Nail was an outlier but now Victor? Maybe I do have a thing for the quiet and sweet after all, but I’d get bored in the long run without someone who really knows how to ‘take me by the horns’ y’kno? Ah well, it’s kind of comfortable here, I’ve been so busy with fun, extravagance, and pleasure that I’d forgotten how nice comfort can be. For a time anyway, until you get bored and have to burn something. _

  
  


“So when will you be ready?” Pyre hugged Victor from behind, practically spilling over him and making him topple into his papers. 

 

“Depends how long you’re going to keep disturbing me.” He raised an eyebrow at her, but he was smiling. 

 

“Boo! Give me an estimate. A guess, an approximation.” She playfully reached out towards a dictionary on his table, “A…” She flipped through, “Guestimate.”

 

“That’s not a word,” He took the book away from her, “Why’d you take it if you were just going to make something up.”   
  


“Props are important, but they are just for the audience.” She stuck her tongue out. She looked down at his papers, humming softly to herself, her piercing, curious green eyes finding his.

 

He sighed, running his six-fingered hand over his bald blue scalp, “A few months probably. It’s not the most complicated thing, but it’s surprisingly intricate.”

 

“Yea it is.” She chuckled to herself.

 

He waved his hand, “it is. Usually, when we graft things on we connect the nerves and it’s fine, your body integrates the new limbs into your body and you feel like they are a part of you.” One of the slender but long octopus arms emerging from between his shoulder blades waved in front of her nose playfully. “but I need to rewire your nerve network for it to be right. And I need to do it internally rather than externally. It’s finicky.”

 

She nodded, “I understand, but it can be done?”

 

“Please,” He smiled, “Do you know who I am? If you can envision it, I can do it.” 

 

“As long as people can pay.”

 

“What? You think I run a charity?”

 

“Wouldn’t hurt to be a little charitable. Maybe you should, grab a few random people off of the streets and graft some fish parts onto them.” 

 

“I think what you’re talking about is more mad science than it is charity. Simic usually frowns at that, you want Izzit.” He ran his slender fingers across his chin, “But… It certainly would be nice to have some proper human test subjects, just once in a while.” He gave her a mysterious smile that made her wonder how serious he was. 

 

She chuckled, “Maybe you can convince me to let you graft something on, pimp my clown, long as I can perform and long as you give me a pussy.”

 

He hummed in amusement, “I’ll have to consider that.” He turned over to his papers, tabbing his pen against his notes, “You sure you just want a pu-” He cleared his throat, “-vagina? If I’m working around down there I can do something more fun you know. Like you could have both, can make your penis internal so you only have it when you need it.”

 

She had to consider that one for a minute, it was actually an intriguing idea. “Hm… No, no I think I prefer it this way. Just… Simple.”

 

“Very un-Rakdos of you.”

 

“Maybe so… And I certainly have lovers who’ll be unhappy. But you know… It’s what I always wanted, and now that I’m close, I feel like it’d be a mistake to start going crazy with it.”

 

He nodded, “I’ll have it done before you know it.” He smiled gently at her.

 

“I’ll have to see it to believe it.” She took a few steps away from him, examining his laboratory and home. “Honestly it seems you never get anything done when I’m not here looking over your shoulder.” She mused, picking up a strange instrument and examining it. It looked kind of like a mechanical beetle.

 

He cleared his throat awkwardly, “I work on a lot of things at once.” He said defensively, “yours can’t always take priority.”

 

“Yea?” She smiled mischievously, “What are you working on?”

 

“A… A few things, I can’t just tell you about my research you know, it’s secret.”

 

“Oh? Exciting. How much progress have you made exactly over the last week?” She leaned over next to him, seeing him averting his eyes from her awkwardly.

 

“S- Some!”

 

“But not a lot.” She concluded knowingly.

 

He went quiet, fiddling with his hands.

 

“Alright, it’s decided.” Pyre stood, stretching her arms above her head. 

 

“What is?” Worry quickly plastered Victor’s face.

 

“You’ll never get anything done like this, you need someone to keep an eye on you. So I’ll keep an eye on you.” 

 

“That’s… really not necessary…!”

 

“I know,” She leaned down to hug around his neck from behind, “I’m just that nice.” 

 

He swallowed, “I like my privacy you know…”

 

“And you’ll get it back once you finish my surgery. Consider it a little extra incentive.” She chuckled at his grimace. 

 

Pyre walked to his bookshelf, finding one that seemed interesting and letting herself fall down in his large, round, pillow fort of a bed. She sank into it further than she’d expected and found herself sighing contently, “Oh… I could get used to this.” She whispered contently. She shot Victor a dangerous glare, “what are you still doing just sitting there, get to work.” She said with amusement, but her eyes were quite serious. 

 

He swallowed, “R- Right… Uhm… Sure I guess.”

 

* * *

  
  


A few hours later he closed his tomes with a cleansing sigh. He stretched his sore body as he stood. “There, it’s late, can I go to bed now or are you going to force me to work until morning?” He asked sourly in Pyre’s direction. He paused as he saw the Rakdos clown soundly asleep in his bed, a book folded on her chest which she hugged like a stuffed bear. He ran his hand over his scalp with an exasperated smile, “You know you’re getting makeup on my nice sheets. Not that I imagine you care.”

 

Pyre made a small snoring sound in response, rolling over on her side. Victor sat on the bed, making sure not to wake her. “You know… I did get a lot done today. Even if it was basically at knifepoint… I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if you came back just once in a while. I don’t often have company.” He got undressed and lied down next to her, putting a blanket over her and tried to fall asleep, which was hard with someone else next to him, he’d only ever slept alone and it made him more than a little uncomfortable, even in his massive bed. He hummed unhappily to himself.

 

* * *

  
  


Pyre yawned and stretched as her internal clock felt midday approaching. She rubbed her eyes and found that she’d forgotten to remove her facepaint (again), groaning a little as she let herself fall back into the now white, once blue sheets beneath her. She looked around for Victor, expecting him beside her but finding instead a wall of pillows, a literal wall, meticulously build as a barrier on the bed. 

 

She couldn’t help but laugh, rolling out of bed and seeing the blue-skinned nerd sleeping, a bit of drool on his pillow. “You know I’m a little offended that you needed to shield yourself from me.” She said to herself, “but you’re pretty cute so I’ll forgive you this one time.” His tentacles emerged from the blanket, grabbing hold of it and pulling it up tighter around him. Pyre bit her lip, “Yea… pretty cute…” She cleared her throat, electing to leave before the science dork awoke. 


	5. Elven Enclave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> how'd Pyre turn out this way? Hoping to add a few chapters of her before she was even Pyre. Hope you'll like to see them as well!

_Comfort, stability, overview of complex situations and patience. Everything I never look for in a partner these days, but… damn this one snuck up on me. My first relationship was wonderful but… That’s young love right? Burn bright and explode like a firebreather with a cold. I didn’t really know how to shield myself back then, how to put on a brave face._

  


A young woman sat on a bench sighing her heart out. She pulled her dark blue cape up over her shoulders defensively. Her fingers traced thoughtlessly over her jawline, cursing every hint of stubble she found. She refused to cry about this, it wasn’t anyone’s fucking business and it didn’t matter what they thought. Still… Being denied repeatedly felt like hell everytime, more recently because it was starting to feel hopeless, like she was running out of options.

 

“Uhm… Hey.” A gentle sympathetic smile plastered on an androgynous elven face greeted her. They were tall, almost looking like someone had stretched them, their limbs were inhumanly long and slender, their torso looked almost 20 centimeters too long just on it’s own. But they were beautiful in that fae, alien way. Their eyes were a deep dark green which the girl got lost in for a moment. It annoyed her a little, that she spend so long trying to look like a woman, and here this person was, who seemed not to have made an effort to look one way or another, and the girl could not for the life of her figure out which sex hid under the hood. That was probably rude, she knew that, but she felt a little spiteful anyway, and she was upset, she didn’t care if she was a little rude in her own mind.

 

“Hey… Here to help me see the light? Tell me why I’m wrong.” Her words tasted as bitter in her mouth as they sounded in the air.

 

The elf sat down next to her, their hands resting at the edge making the girl realize that while the elf had slender limbs, their hands were disproportionally huge. They shook their head, “I… I listened to your speech. About how it’s not necessarily ‘natural’ just because you were born a man, that it’s not what’s right for you. It… I guess I found it interesting, persuasive.”

 

The woman looked them over, “Thanks I guess. That’s nice. I’ve always been pretty confident in my powers of argumentation, but you know… I guess it goes to show that what I’m advocating is stupid…” Her voice broke, tears starting to travel down her cheeks as it all hit her at once.

 

A large hand took hold of her shoulder, pulling her against the elf gently. “It’s not stupid. I guess the concepts just don’t speak well to the dryads. Social constructs don’t affect them much.”

 

“You’d think it did? I mean, they are all women, who decided that? I mean they are literally trees! You’d think one of them found it a bit intrusive.”

 

The elf hummed to themself, “I… Never thought about it that way… I suppose that’s true.”

 

The woman wiped a tear, “I just… I thought someone would understand… I thought Simic would approve but they thought my desires for joining were ‘selfish’... I suppose that’s true…” She sighed deeply, “Boros feels like everything I’m trying to escape and Izzet… I don’t know. I’ll try them next and then they’ll refuse me too.” She sobbed.

 

“I think Izzet might be a good fit for you. You clearly thirst for knowledge and you have as much passion as anyone. Plus you’re obviously smart.” They encouragingly shook the woman’s shoulder a little. “What was your name again?”

 

The woman frowned, sinking into herself a little.

 

“Your real name, the one you use, not the one you used to have. I think you did a good job of arguing which was your real one. I’m Ta’vii”

 

“Rebecca.” The woman sniffled.

 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Ta’vii gave her an honest smile. “But… It wasn’t because you were a good speaker that I thought what you said was interesting.” their voice was contemplative, but it changed quickly when they saw Rebecca’s betrayed look, “Not that you aren’t! You were great! What I mean is that… It was because it resonated with me.” The elf sighed gently, looking down at their knees, “I don’t know… I don’t know if I’m like you. But the stuff you said it… It struck a cord. About how others see me, about how I’m treated, and that feeling of… wrongness sometimes...” They tapped their finger against the bench, their knees pressing together. “-Often, I often feel like that when people assume things about me because of my gender or the way I look.”

 

Rebecca looked them over again, still entirely unsure what gender the person possessed. She took a deep breath, looking at them with hopeful eyes, she’d never met anyone like her, she’d scoured the libraries for information but there was practically none. Only enough to assure her that she wasn’t literally the first person in the world to feel this way. But this person might? Somehow it gave her a warm feeling.

 

“What I’m saying is that… Regardless of what they say, I think it’s natural. An oddity maybe, but many things in nature are. Seleshnya seeks to find those oddities and nurture them, hoping they become something new and beautiful. I think it’s wrong of the elders to deny you before you exit your cocoon and sprout your wings.”

 

Rebecca felt herself leaning against the elf, “Thanks… That means more to me than you know…” She gave them a genuine smile, sighing happily when the elf embraced her. She hadn’t been hugged since she left her home, she hadn’t realized that until now, but she’d needed it desperately.

 

“I hope you find a place where you belong. I know you will. But regardless of where you end up, I’d like it if you came back. I’d like to talk to you.”

 

“Monitor my growth?”

 

“Well… I would like to see what happens when you break free. But… More than that I’d like to have a friend that I can be frank with. It’s not always easy…”

 

Rebecca’s hand clenched, “Yea? Well… I guess I could use more friends… I could use _a_ friend…”

 

“Me too… And well… I’m studying to become a conclave mage, the things you wanted here, maybe I could help you.”

 

“Won’t you get in trouble?”

 

“Only if I get caught.”

 

Rebecca chuckled, “that’s not very Seleshnya of you.”

 

“On the contrary, I’ve found a precious seed. The only right thing to do is encourage its growth.”

 

“haha, I thought I was a butterfly, not a flower?”

 

“You can be both.” They shrugged. “In fact… I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some creatures who turn to plants temporarily to protect themselves in the cocoon stage. So I guess you’re one of those.”

 

Rebecca scoffed, “aren’t those Valiran stick insects? I’m not sure I appreciate the comparison.” She shivered.

 

“Why? They are a marvel of evolutionary science, remarkable and beautiful.” They looked Rebecca over curiously, “I’m surprised you know that. You really would be a boon to Seleshnya. I’ll try to convince the elders that you do belong here. They’ve been known to change their minds… Occasionally… Rarely.”

 

“I’ll note that you aren’t to be trusted on matters of beauty.” Rebecca stuck her tongue out at the tall elf. “But… Thank you. You’re sweet. Even if you like bugs.”

 

“Bugs are beautiful! You humans fearing them or squashing them is what’s strange and horrid!” Their sudden fire caused a bit of strange exhilaration to shoot through Rebecca, she didn’t consider herself cruel, but somehow she felt a powerful need to tease this person. Later though.

 

For now Rebecca sighed contently, leaning into the hug and allowing herself to stay there for a moment, then a moment longer. After a few weeks on the streets, rejection upon rejection and constant doubts about whether she’d done the right thing, it wasn’t surprising that she fell asleep almost immediately in the elf’s arms.


	6. Sparring partner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added some chapters in the 'explicit' version of Stoking the flames. These aren't just smut scenes but full chapters. I'll likely end up editing them and putting them in this story as well with the explicit content taken out. But as it stands, if you want to know how Victor and Pyre went from friends to lovers, you'll have to check out the first chapter of the explicit story. Link to it above.

 

“Come on Pyre, I get being rusty, but this is pathetic.” Lance parried a strike, swinging around to knock his sister on her ass again. He rested his training sword against the ground, giving her a cocky grin. 

 

Pyre groaned in pain, “Shut up… I’ve abandoned the sword, it doesn’t suit me.” She grabbed the glorified wooden stick and got to her feet, her legs starting to shake after the repeated beatings. She got into a familiar fighting stance, like riding a bike, she used to train like this for hours. The sight of Lance’s stance was equally familiar, a fight she’d had literally hundreds of times, always with the same result. 

 

“Oh?” Lance chuckled in amusement, weaving around her decent sword skills, “You think you could beat me in a real fight?”

 

“Definitely!” She wiped her brow, “With my magic and my acrobatics, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

 

“Why don’t you test that theory then?” He stepped back, dramatically posing as he conjured his powerful armor around himself, drawing his silver sheen sword. “Why don’t you try coming at me?” He got into his stance.

 

Pyre couldn’t help but snicker at him, deflating his knightly ego a little. “You know, I thought I was the only one with a flair for the dramatic, but you really pose like that when transforming?  _ Really _ ?” She laughed mockingly, watching heat rising to his face under his helmet.

 

“I…! It’s important to get into the right mindset for combat! And it serves to invigorate the troops!” He stammered defensively. 

 

“Well, I sure feel invigorated. What about you Carmen? This doing it for you?”

 

“Yes, it is a wonderful display of his power and serves to inspire. I think it’s good.” She said professionally, giving Lance an encouraging smile which seemed to lift his spirits entirely.

 

Pyre frowned at the angel, letting out a theatrical sigh, “No accounting for taste I suppose. But you know brother, anything you can do, I can do better.” She raised her palm to the sky, conjuring a powerful flame that enveloped her body, when the smoke cleared she was back in her Rakdos outfit, without makeup, unfortunately, but still a neat trick. She spread out her arms in a cocky pose.

 

Pyre’s smile grew as she saw the disbelief and bewilderment in their eyes, “How did you  _ do  _ that!?” Lance stared at her.

 

“Please brother, I’m just that good.” She laughed. He didn’t need to know that she’d just taken to wearing this outfit under a dress she’d gotten for the purpose, which was now completely destroyed.

 

Pyre drew chains from her body, choreography taken from one of her performances, more show than anything else. The chains dancing rapidly like flying snakes around her body, flames conjured around them in a wild display of dangerous magic. She grabbed the chains, doing a little twirl back, wrapping the chains around herself in preparation for her Corde Lisse like performance fighting. 

 

Lance straightened his stance, “Don’t think your flashy dancing will do you any good.” 

 

“What? With how you were posing I thought we were just having a ‘stance-off’,’” She saw his stance falter as he tried to think of a retort. She snickered as she dashed forward, conjuring a wave of fire at her unprepared opponent who rolled into her waiting chains as he attempted to dodge. His heavy chain-wrapped armor falling to the ground beside her was incredibly satisfying.

 

“Hey, that wasn’t fair! You distracted me!”

 

Pyre burst out laughing, “I thought you said you wanted to fight for real, do you think a Rakdos assassin would care about ‘fair’? I get most of my kills by surprise. Distraction and deception are my best tools.”

 

“But that’s not…” Lance pouted, “Fighting’s supposed to be a show of skill, not some…”

 

“She did use her skills.” Carmen interjected sharply, her arms folded as she scowled at Lance, “Pyre’s right, most of the people we fight, fight dirty. If she’d been trying to kill you, she would have succeeded.” 

 

Lance wiggled in his chains, finding it harder than he’d like to get out. He sighed resignedly, “So what? We’re supposed to fight without honor? I thought Boros was all about honor.”

 

“Ohh! Do you fight dirty too?” Pyre sat down hard on Lance, addressing Carmen.

 

“I don’t fight dirty, but I try to never lose my composure in the field. And as a swordsman you know the value of a proper feint, what Pyre does is really no different, she just targets your composure more than your perception. You’re an excellent fighter Lance, but you lack proper experience, not everyone you meet is going to fight like a sparring partner.” 

 

Pyre nodded “you fight in such a composed way, Carmen. Like those imps, you were taking on when I met you? The model of honorable fighting.” She grinned as she saw Carmen’s face flush.

 

“What’s this?” Lance asked from his chain cocoon under Pyre, seemingly over the humiliation, or at least the intrigue had made him forget it momentarily.

 

Pyre gave him an amused look “Well you see-”

 

“-Lance doesn’t need to hear that story!” Carmen snapped desperately.

 

“Well, now I have to know.” Lance looked at the angel’s reddening face, his gears grinding in his head as to try to envision what could possibly make her look like that.

 

“Weeeeeell…!” Pyre rolled her body from one side to the other like a jack-in-a-box. 

 

“Don’t you dare.” 

 

“Hm… Oh! How about this. If you can beat me, I won’t tell him. But if I can beat you… Hm… You have to go to the fair with me tomorrow!” 

 

Carmen frowned, “I don’t think I could live with myself if I went to another one of your ‘fairs’” She shivered, remembering the experience, the sights, the smells. 

 

Pyre shook her head, “Not a precinct 6 fair, I know that’s not your speed, there’s an Inventors fair this week, I wanted to go and it's almost over!” Her eyes shone with excitement.

 

“Hm… I heard about that… I suppose those are fair stakes.” She drew her sword, light reflecting unnaturally off of it as she did. “Of course it won’t matter. There’s no way you can beat me.” 

 

“Ohhohoh! Now, this is getting interesting.” Pyre stood, unwrapping Lance and drawing her chain around herself. 

 

Pyre watched Carmen for a moment, glancing to her surroundings, trying to figure out how to wrap her chain around to ensnare the angel before she could go on the-  _ Shit!  _ Pyre had to dash back to avoid the powerful swing from the angel's sword. She hadn’t expected Carmen to rush forward like that, and she wasn’t ready for the continued onslaught against her. Carmen came at her like a steam train, not giving her a moment to let up as she swung mercilessly and with expert precision, making Pyre wonder if the angel knew how lethal some of these slashes seemed. 

 

Pyre dodged low, rolling away into a crouch which seemed to surprise Carmen long enough for the clown to regain  _ some  _ composure. The angel didn’t seem intent on letting up though, rushing forward like a charging bull. Pyre finally got her chains properly going, letting them spring out from her like a powerful net out of nowhere, falling to the ground where Carmen should have been. Pyre blinked in confusion, then felt a thunderous tackle against her body, sending her tumbling to the floor, sliding along the thick marble like an ice puck. 

 

The clown wheezed in pain, “H… how did you do that?” She asked, more impressed than betrayed.

 

Carmen sheathed her sword, rushing to her and making sure she wasn’t hurt. “Well, I find that against trained fighters it’s an effective strategy to fight like a human, then when they get used to the way I move, I use my wings to shift my momentum entirely, I can dash in any direction very effectively, and if you’re used to telegraphing how a human body is moving, you’ll completely miss where I’m going.” She finished checking Pyre’s arm to make sure nothing was broken, “And don’t think I’ll forgive you if you break your promise. You lost fair and square.”

 

Pyre nodded, “Fiiine, I won’t tell Lance anything. It’ll be our little secret.” She winked.

 

Carmen nodded and stood, “So when do you want to go to the fair tomorrow?”

 

Pyre blinked, “But… I lost!”

 

“Maybe, but it sounds fun. Like you said, maybe it’s healthy for me to do some things that seem fun.” She shrugged, smiling at the bewilderment painted on Pyre’s face. “Lance, you’re coming too right?”

 

“Aww… But I wanted it to be a date!”

 

“Then you’d best win next time.” Carmen walked away to get cleaned up, looking over her shoulder and sticking out her tongue for good measure, leaving the two siblings looking at one another in complete befuddlement. 


	7. Burning assurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of tiny Pyre again before the festival. It's wonderfully tragic to write about what she used to be, and I look forward to getting further into some of the events that landed her with the cult.

_ Looking back at this time of my life is so strange… I was so sure I’d finally found a place to belong, a friend and a future. I was too quick to plan out my path, only to discover that nothing ever works out the way you expected it to. I used to be so obsessed with the future, planning everything in detail and following a course. I’m trying to unlearn that but… I can’t help but see the connections and work towards bigger things. Oh well, at least now I know that tomorrow isn’t a certainty, and my plans will get me killed if a random accident or whatever doesn’t do it first.  _

 

“So what’s this thing you want to show me?” Rebecca looked around the elf’s small house, single circular room build unobtrusively into the treeline of the enormous Seleshnya forests, right in the heart of the city. 

 

Ta’vii beamed at her, excitedly walking to their cabinet and retrieving a long wooden pen with runic carvings along it, the details on it making it resemble a feather. They held it proudly, practically shaking.

 

Rebecca looked it over, her cogs turning to try and decipher what it could be. “A mark stylus?” Ta’vii nodded eagerly. Rebecca’s face lit up, “So you’re officially a guildmage! That’s amazing Ta! Congratulations!” She tackled the elf into a hug who was happy to return it. 

 

“Thanks, I worked really hard. But look at you, you’re doing well for yourself too.” They touched the fabric of the reddish brown workers smock, the dragon emblem proudly blazoned on her shoulder. 

 

“I’m just an Izzet apprentice, you’re a full-blown guildmage. Besides, as I’m evidence of, Izzet will let anyone in.” She stuck her tongue out playfully.

 

The elf shook their head, tracing their fingers over the emblem, “That’s not true. Being an apprentice like this takes some people years. I’m sure you’ll make guildmage in record time, far faster than me.” 

 

Rebecca looked at the elf curiously, “How long  _ did  _ it take you. Are you secretly like 300 years old?” 

 

The elf chuckled, “I could be,” They looked at her mysteriously, “Would you dislike it if I was?”

 

Rebecca thought about it for a moment, “I suppose not… It might be slightly less amazing that you made guildmage, but still a great accomplishment.”

 

“That’s all you’d care about? Don’t you think it’d be weird if I hung around someone so young?”

 

“Hey I’m 15, I’m practically an adult. And like… I don’t know, elves hanging around humans have to feel that way sometimes right? But ultimately if you didn’t mind hanging out with younger humans, at some point you just couldn’t hang out with humans at all, right?”

 

“True,” They shrugged, “I’m 17, but I’ve been an apprentice since I was 12, so it still took me awhile.”

 

“12? What good is a 12-year-old apprentice?”

 

“Elves are adults at age 12, I was as mature then as you are now. Well, a bit more so, but I’m starting to wonder if you’ll ever really grow up, I’m sure Izzet isn’t helping much there.” They mimicked Rebecca by sticking their tongue out, though they clearly didn’t feel natural doing it, they laughed.

 

“Boo! Maturity’s for suckers anyway! But… Damn you were an adult at 12? that’s… Wow, elves really are just cheaters… they are barely children, then they remain adults for… what? How long do you live?”

 

“I’m not sure. Very few elves actually survive long enough to die from old age, a war, an assassin, live long enough and something will catch up with you. But 500 isn’t uncommon.”

 

Rebecca ran a hand through her brown hair, “Damn… trade with me? Would love to have 500 years to figure this stuff out.”

 

“What stuff?”

 

“Life, just… The more I learn about myself the less I feel I know. Maybe after 500 years, I’d actually have a clue.” She smiled at the elf who couldn’t help but laugh. 

 

“So... “ Ta’vii turned the pen contemplatively in their large but slender and dexterous hands, “Do you know what this does?”

 

Rebecca scratched the back of her head, “It like… scribes magical runes? You can carve a rune into a tree and encourage its growth in certain ways if you’re powerful enough you might even be able to awaken it into a living being?”

 

Ta’vii nodded, “A good description, but only half the story. I can also assign marks to living creatures. A common but powerful rune allows a creature or person to grow in size, 5 or even 10 times their normal size!”

 

Rebecca’s eyes widened, “Wow! I knew such spells existed, I didn’t know it was all the same tool being used.”

 

The elf nodded, “But those flashy things aren’t what’s really interesting. Weaker runes can stay forever on a creature, encouraging a certain type of growth. Boros often have their young soldiers scribed with Seleshnyan symbols which makes their muscles grow faster and stronger, their bodies leaner and more flexible. Or well… They used to, these days it seems like it’s every guild for themselves.” They looked the tool over with a thoughtful frown.

 

“Hey, it’s fine. Between just the two of us, we have almost the entire color wheel covered when we’re in charge of everything we’ll have Seleshnya and Izzet join forces and then the others will see how dumb it is to just isolate themselves.”

 

“Guess that means we need black as well… You suggest we make a friend in Orzov?” They shivered at the thought, Rebecca joining them in disgust.

 

“Please… I’d rather have someone from the Swarm or even Rakdos, at least they seem to know how to party.”

 

“I think they’d sooner burn down our forests than befriend us.” 

 

“Maybe… It’ hard to pin down the Cultists, they really are crazy, I can’t imagine why people keep joining.” 

 

“I hear it simply attracts the lowlives and the insane, fostering their death wishes until they are ready to go kill themselves on stage…” Ta’vii shivered again.

 

“Sounds fun, maybe we should go see a performance sometime?” Rebecca asked playfully.

 

“Bite your tongue, I hear even audience members die during some of their wilder ‘shows’, I’d rather eat nails.”

 

“The Swarm then,” Rebecca shrugged, “You don’t mind a few undead, right?” She delighted as she saw Ta’vii truly shaking this time. 

 

“This is all supposing we’re just going to become bigshots in our guilds, and I only just made guildmage after almost a decade, climbing in Seleshnya is slow you know, and it’s not like I’m especially talented.”

 

“Don’t sell yourself short Ta! We’re gonna be stars!” She said, grabbing the elf by the shoulder and pointing to the sky theatrically. She couldn’t help but delight in Ta’vii’s nervous laughter, their self-consciousness clearly screaming under the surface, but they were smiling genuinely.

 

“Uhm…!” The elf awkwardly pulled themselves away. “Oh! You keep distracting me!” They said more as a realization than an accusation, the relief of being able to change the topic clear on their features. “You should take your clothes off!” They said enthusiastically. 

 

Rebecca’s shoulders sank in utter disbelief, her world being turned on its head in that instance. The elf quickly realized their mistake, a heavy blush forming over their features, “For a tattoo! I! I Meant I could…! With the stylus! I could help you be more womanly!” They waved their hands in front of their face defensively.

 

The brunette’s eyes began shining with interest, “Oh? What do you mean?” She took a step closer to Ta’vii, searching their eyes for answers. the bright intensity in her eyes making the elf tense up further. 

 

“Ah I… I did some research, on the difference between male and female humans, you know? And uhm… I found some interesting chemical differences, I’ve developed a fairly simple seal that should change your chemical balance to a female one instead of a male one.” 

 

Rebecca hummed, barely able to hide her sudden eagerness.“That’s interesting… What would that  _ do _ exactly?”

 

“I’m… I’m not sure,” They admitted dejectedly, “likely prolong your puberty but change it into a more female one. Your body will likely change, but… I’m not sure how much or how exactly. It shouldn’t be dangerous though.”

 

“Joy… More puberty…” Rebecca let out a false sigh. 

 

“you shouldn’t if you don’t want to! It was just a thought. I’m sorry… it was silly... stupid... moronic…” Their shoulders sank.

 

“No! No please I love it! It sounds like exactly what I want!” She placed a sympathetic hand on the elf’s shoulder, giving them her most eager smile. “You did this research for me?” She pulled Ta’vii into a tight hug, “It’s perfect, thank you.”

 

“You sure? You don’t have to humor me…”

 

“Ta, I wouldn’t let you put a permanent enchantment on my body just to humor you. I’m nice, I’m not that nice.” She smiled, “Please, I want it.”

 

The elf smiled at her, leaning down to gently rub their head against the top of Rebecca’s.

 

* * *

 

 

Rebecca’s hands clenched against her knees as the searing pain ran through her, the smell of burnt flesh was thick in the air and tears were streaming down the woman’s face. 

“I’m sorry…” Ta’vii paused with the stylus, “I’ve only used this on trees… I didn’t realize how much it would hurt… I can stop.”

Rebecca sniffled, shaking her head firmly, “No! I can handle it…! It’s fine! Barely hurts…!”

Ta’vii carefully placed the tip of the pen back against the skin, the burning magic searing through Rebecca, making her howl in pain. They bit their lip, hating seeing someone they cared about deeply in such pain, especially when it was them causing the pain. “You’re doing great.” They whispered, “I’m almost done,” They lied. 

The woman grabbed onto her pant leg, her knuckles whitening, her clenched teeth starting to hurt badly. “Please… talk to me…” she pleaded.

Ta’vii paused, “What about…?”

“Anything! Please… Anything to distract me…!”

They nodded, “I… I’m thinking of changing my name.”

“Yea? Why?” Rebecca’s voice was thick with interest, it made the elf sigh a sigh of relief that they were able to say something remotely helpful. 

“Ta’vii is very… gendered. I’m not sure I like it.”

“Hah! I still literally don’t know Ahh… Fuck! Don’t know what sex you have.”

“Really?” The elf paused in surprise, blinking a few times to catch up.

Rebecca nodded, “Truly, couldn’t tell when we met, never been able to figure it out.”

Ta’vii laughed, “That makes me oddly happy actually.” Rebecca couldn’t see the strange smile on the elf’s face, a smile brought on by a feeling the elf couldn’t describe. “I… I thought I was like you for a while.”

“But you aren’t?” Rebecca felt a slight pinch of pain in her chest, but it was easily overpowered by the searing pain on her shoulder. 

“Not completely, I don’t think. But I’m… Similar I think. I don’t think I’m happy with how people see me, but… If I  _ was _ like you, and people saw me as the opposite, that wouldn’t make me happy either I think. Just trading out something that feels wrong for something that feels equally wrong.” They sighed, “I… You really don’t know what I am?”

Rebecca chuckled through the pain, “I really don’t.”

“... That makes me happier than thinking of myself as either option… Can I be that maybe?”

“What? Like, neither?”

“Haha, yea I suppose. The more I think about it, the less I like either. Those feelings you had before you were Rebecca… I feel that. A lot, a lot-a lot lately. But that desire to be the other is like... “ They shook their head, “That’s not it either.”

Rebecca nodded, “So you’re neither? That’s… ARGH! How does it keep hurting more!? mmmnnn... “ Her body shook as she tried desperately to resist rolling away from the pain, fleeing away from the burning. She tried taking a deep breath, drying her eyes, “It suits you. Being neither.”

A desperately held breath was finally released from the elf. They let their head fall on Rebecca’s untortured shoulder, “Thank you…! I’m so relieved to hear you say that…! You don’t think it’s silly?”

Rebecca was so happy to feel a tiny respite from the pain, not that her shoulder wasn’t on fire, but at least there wasn’t actively being added to it. She reached back to pat the elf gently on the head, “Course not! I’ve been called silly enough to know how stupid it is to call someone else that when they’re being honest.” She took a deep breath, “I’m glad you told me. I think it’s great. So… What should I call you? And… How in the world do I address you…?”

“Haha… I don’t know… I don’t even know what my name should be.”

“Mm… How about Nail?”

“... Why?”

“It’s the name of a saproling from a children’s story my mother used to read my brother and me. The saproling didn’t have a gender in the book, and my brother and me used to argue if it was a boy or a girl, I wanted it to be a girl because I related to it, and I assume he felt the same. In the end, it wasn’t either, of course, it was just a sweet little forest person who would be confused and maybe a little offended by our argument.” 

The elf felt their ears flipping gently up and down, “I know that story… I always thought Nail was a boy and didn’t think about it… But you’re right, it wasn’t either.” They tapped the back of the stylus thoughtlessly above the burning wound on Rebecca’s shoulder, making her tense with fear, but she elected not to say anything. “I like it.” They concluded, finding it more fitting every time they thought about it. 

“Nail then, but… Do I call you an ‘it’?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

The elf hummed to themselves, “No, but I’m not sure what else we’ll use. We’ll think about it, figure it out as we go.”

Rebecca nodded, “Sounds good… So uhm… You’re done right?” She asked hopefully.

Nail laughed sheepishly, “a- almost…” 

“... Are you going to be ‘almost’ done for a while?”

“... Maybe…”

Rebecca sighed, “Great… Ok Nail, please proceed…”

Rebecca’s wincing pain and sobbing could be heard for almost half an hour after that. When it was finally done, Rebecca had a black flower emblazoned on her shoulder with white runic symbols on the petals. The skin healed and became smooth (eventually) and the effects of the sigil were more than worth pain even 10 times worse.


	8. Economics of expression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping montage :D

**Field report**

**Entry 47**

**Paujal 23. ‘75.**

 

**Mission; ‘Steeled Fire’ appears to have worked out differently than anticipated. Pyre’s continued meetings with Lance have done little to calm her down or change her. Rather, it appears that her presence has cause Lance to act more wild. I am starting to understand when they say that something is addictive. I see it in Lance. But, I’ve never seen Lance smile the way he does when he’s with Pyre, and I get the sense that Pyre doesn’t have many other places where she smiles this way either. I don’t know if I should encourage it. I feel I shouldn’t, but perhaps it is good for them? I hope it is.**

 

**I find Pyre’s continued insistence on my ‘enjoying myself’, worrying. It shouldn’t be, she says many things and little of what she says it to be taken seriously I find. What worries me is that I find myself occasionally feeling tempted to follow her encouragements, and the more I do, the easier it gets. Lance believes it to be ‘harmless’, and as he says, I do enjoy myself. But… I find myself unable to talk to my sisters about it, I feel ashamed. If something makes me feel this way, surely it’s proof that it is bad, right?**

 

**I realize that this report is useless to anyone and I apologize for wasting the paper and ink with which it was written.**

 

**Field Report Entry 47 was destroyed before it could be read by anyone.**

  
  


“Are you sure this is strictly necessary?” Carmen looked herself over in the mirror, the fabric was light and she could barely feel it around her compared to her armor, she felt exposed. 

 

“Well no, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But Lance is right, with rising tension between the guilds, it would be nice to just be ‘neutral’ when we’re out. Not that an angel will ever be really neutral, but I guess you could be in Orzov? Are there angels anywhere else?” Pyre looked more at herself than at Carmen which surprised the angel, she’d have expected the woman to be teasing her or hitting on her, which amounted to the same thing really. It made her smile that with all of Pyre’s references to Carmen being a bird, she was the one who, like many feathered beasts, was completely mesmerized by her own image. 

 

Pyre frowned at her reflection and got out of the dress, throwing it haphazardly in a pile of discarded clothes. Carmen couldn’t help but stare at the woman’s body, standing in her underwear there were a few things she usually hid that were on display. Scars mainly, many of them. Many of them were strange to Carmen, not the scars of combat, but from things that the angel couldn’t quite fathom. Long lashes across her back were especially strange. Her front was discolored by a large series of black marks over her stomach, she looked like she’d been hit by bats to her stomach repeatedly and it had to have happened recently. She frowned, seeing similar bruises on her elbows and around her arms, the bruises that both she and Lance had left. But the stomach ones… Who could have done that to her? And why wouldn’t she have told Carmen about it?

 

“I don’t want to wear this.” Carmen frowned at her reflection. She could see why Pyre had picked it for her, the dark colors played nicely with her golden hair which might easily clash with normal clothes. It suited her figure as well, highlighted her muscular body while still showing off her curves a little. She looked objectively good, but… “I hate it.”

 

Carmen felt her body tense up as Pyre walked up next to her to look in the mirror with her. To her surprise, the woman’s eyes were critical and professional rather than mocking or mockingly flirtatious. “What don’t you like about it?”

 

“It’s hard to put into words.” She lifted her arms, “I just feel… naked.”

 

Pyre gave her a knowing look, a foxy smile flashing on her features, Carmen practically able to see the crude comment on the tip of Pyre’s tongue, but it vanished before finding life in the world. Instead, her critical eye returned and she looked Carmen over. “I understand. It’s very different from what you wear. Hold on.” She darted away, running along the aisles of fabric, navigating it like a savant, pulling what seemed like dozens of articles with her. Carmen felt her heart sinking. 

 

“Here,” Pyre handed her a new outfit, similar in color to the other. “This might suit you better.” She smiled encouragingly.

 

Carmen took the clothes, eyeing the mount of fabric in Pyre’s arms. “Oh, these are for me.” Pyre smiled at her assuringly, “ _ someone  _ takes aeons to change you see, and some of us don’t have immortality to waste putting on clothes, so I’ll be using my time wisely.” Pyre stuck her tongue out at the angel, who could honestly only sigh in relief. 

 

Pyre was right though, it did take Carmen an eternity to change. She’d seen people wear clothes like this before, but parts of them she truly didn’t know how to put on. The stockings had baffled her and she’d had to ask Pyre, she still couldn’t believe they hadn’t broken when she’d put them on. 

 

She eyed the thin sheet of fabric between her and the rest of the store as she entered the changing stall. She tried to ignore that voice that told her that Pyre was going to jump in to get a glimpse at her while she was changing. She wouldn’t, right? Carmen shook her head, she wouldn’t put anything past the performer, but at the same time, she’d never actually witnessed Pyre doing anything particularly bad. Was it possible that she was all talk?

 

The angel sighed in relief as she got out of the dress and realized the new outfit was more straightforward. She looked herself over in the large mirror, dark colors with a simple golden print, pretty without being too flashy. The main difference was that she was wearing pants instead of a dress. She looked the vest and jacket that came with it over in her hands, they looked like they’d fit alright, but of course, they weren’t backless like the dress, so she couldn’t possibly put them on. She looked at herself in the mirror, Pyre had been running around in her bra earlier, as had a few other patrons, so it wasn’t strange to exit like this, but… She shook her head, finding the tunic she always wore under her armor, throwing it over herself. It looked dumb with the pants, but she told herself she didn’t care. 

 

She carried the upper half of the outfit in her hands as she exited, not saying anything, but waiting for Pyre’s approval. When she realized that was what she was doing, she suddenly felt very vain. Pyre’d jumped into a slender black dress with a v-shape, “You look good.” Carmen said, half wanting to get her attention, but she did mean it. 

 

“I always look good. Oh! So do you.” Pyre smiled encouragingly, jumping down from the podium when she saw what Carmen was wearing. She looked at the clothes in Carmen’s hands, “Not a fan?”

 

“I can’t wear these.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Carmen raised an eyebrow, spreading out her wings behind her.

 

“Oh… Right. You know, I remembered that when choosing the dress, but forgot it the second time around.” She giggled to herself. Moving behind Carmen, the angel flinched as she felt the woman’s warm hands touching the base of her wings.

 

“W- what are you doing?” Carmen fidgeted, she’d never had anyone touch her there before, a few people were uncouth enough to just reach out and stroke them, but this close to her body was usually concealed and protected. 

 

“Ah, sorry!” Carmen was surprised at how Pyre recoiled from her, she seemed genuinely regretful. “I just wanted to see how your tunic was cut to make room for your wings. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have touched you without asking.”

 

Carmen blinked a few times, inspecting the woman. She seemed so different, out of her Rakdos outfit, her hair colored a natural-looking brown and acting like a completely normal person, nicer than most people actually, like a friend. 

 

Pyre met Carmen’s eyes then smiled, “I’m still me.” She assured her, her ability to read the angel’s mind starting to be disconcerting, “I just love clothes. There’s a gentle energy to shopping. It’s how I first got to be myself, you know? And I can tell you’re uncomfortable, so I want to help you, who knows, maybe I can help you feel like yourself too.” Her smile was almost frighteningly honest. 

 

Carmen cleared her throat, “I’m quite fine being myself as I am.” She asserted, “But… I suppose if I am to wear ‘casual’ clothes, these wouldn’t be bad. I just wish I could try them on properly.” 

 

Pyre nodded, taking the clothes from her, conjuring a knife and cutting fitted holes in their backs in a matter of seconds, before Carmen could think to react. The angel watched in horror as Pyre destroyed something that didn’t belong to her. “There, try them on now.” She handed her the clothes with childish enthusiasm.

 

* * *

  
  


“Aww… I was hoping I’d get to see you in a dress.” Lance said jokingly.

 

“I got to.” Pyre shot in with a smile. 

 

“Come on! That’s not fair!”

 

“She looked real good too.” 

 

Carmen scratched the bridge of her nose, happy to see the siblings devolve into their own conversation so she wouldn’t have to be part of it, even if she didn’t love what they were talking about. 

 

The angel took a moment to look around. Enormous machines surrounded the streets, automatons walking with humans, some truly titanic in nature. Mixes of designs from human looking robots, to animal, inspired ones, to machines she couldn’t imagine whose mind concocted. She watched in amazement as a pair of vehicles rode through at truly staggering speeds. The air was heavy with thopters and all manner of engineered flying machines. As incredible as it was, the soldier in the back of her mind was worried, there was a time when angels had near complete dominion of the skies and were able to catch up with anything on land, but as Izzet pumped out one machine after another and Azorious adopted and changed the designs for law enforcement, their natural abilities were starting to be outshined. 

 

“I think I prefer her like this anyway, so butch.” Pyre interrupted her thoughts by gently tugging at her arm. 

 

“Butch?” She raised an eyebrow. 

 

“Oh, butch is like… A style. Like, I guess I would say it’s for women who like being a little more handsome than cute?” Pyre scratched her chin contemplatively.

 

“I suppose I do prefer being handsome to being cute.” Carmen smiled, “So I suppose I’m butch.”

 

Lance snickered.

 

“What?” Carmen raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Well,” Pyre rolled her eyes, “Butch is a style, but it can also be used to refer to girls who just love licking pussy.”

 

Carmen blinked in confusion, “W… Why would you  _ do  _ that?”

 

The siblings looked at each other for a moment, catching up with the unpredicted reaction. The brunette the first to speak, “Well cause it feels insanely good, and it’s nice to make people you love feel insanely good. Hell, it’s wonderful making anyone feel that good.” She leaned in closer to the angel, “I’d be happy to show you if you want. It’s really fun.” She licked her lips.

 

“I’ll politely decline.” Carmen put her hand on her hip with a puzzled look, ‘ _ humans really do that?  _ She elected not to talk more about it, she wasn’t exactly wild about the idea of hammering in just how generally clueless she was about these things, and she honestly didn’t care anyway. 

 

Carmen took a deep breath before smiling at Pyre, “Regardless, I like these clothes a lot better than the dress. Thank you.”

 

“Anytime, literally. I would love to build you an actual wardrobe.” 

 

“Maybe, just promise me you won’t destroy any more clothes when we’re out.”

 

“I didn’t destroy them! I modified them for a better purpose.”

 

“None of that either.”

 

Pyre rolled her eyes, “Fine, fine.” She promised, clearly showing that her fingers were crossed as she talked. Carmen shook her head, Pyre’s childish facade was kind of charming after she’d gotten used to it, she could see how it was good for performances. But the angel wished that the real woman hiding under the makeup and the jokes would peek out more often, she was actually worth talking to. It was such a shame that it was such a struggle to get her out of the clown. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd Pyre get those black marks? The answer lies in the explicit chapter 2 where we get to meet Sonya, Pyre's Gruul girlfriend.


	9. Rock bottom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short Nail chapter

_ Worst part of my life? Lowest point? Hard to chose, I have so many. Honestly, I’d take being a miserable whore over being trapped in the hellhole I was raised in. Still… This wasn’t my proudest moment. Probably wouldn’t have survived it if not for Nail… I should tell them that next time I see them, with how things went down I never got a chance to really thank them back then. _

 

“So… Do you want some tea? I’ll make us something for dinner alright?” Nail’s voice was shaking, they tried to keep it under control but everytime they looked at her, they felt their heart breaking. 

 

Rebecca looked off, nodding slowly in response. She held her cape around her tightly, as if it would hide the state she was in. Nail could tell she was sickly, she’d lost so much weight after she was thrown out of Izzet, after she started living on the streets, after she got in with something she refused to tell Nail about. But with the frequent health checkups and the instinctive flinching that the girl had developed, Nail could guess. 

 

The elf began preparing a proper meal for the woman, glad they could face away from her for a moment so she wouldn’t see the look on their face. “Would you like to stay the night? I have space.”

 

“I don’t want to bother you.” Rebecca’s voice was so devoid of the light and the fire that the elf had come to associate her with, it was like she’d been hollowed out.

 

“It’s not a bother! I enjoy your company, it’s a bit lonely here without you, a lot… cripplingly.”

 

“I’m sorry, I have to get back soon.” She ran her fingers across the area on her back that Nail had fixed, lashings from a whip it seemed, there had been so many, from so many different ‘clients’, but this particular one had been rough enough that she’d sought Nail’s healing. She’d barely been able to make it in through the door. “... Thank you. For your help. For everything.” She let out a deep sigh, “And for the offer of dinner, but I should get going. I’m sorry.”

 

“No!” Nail closed the distance between them with their long gazelle jumps, grasping Rebecca around her shoulders. “Please stay!” Rebecca averted her eyes, Nail could feel their teeth grinding in response. They leaned down to embrace her, “Please…” 

 

Rebecca’s arms slowly moved up to hug them back, “Just for dinner then…” She conceded. 

 

Nail nodded, their head nuzzling against the woman’s neck, they knew they should be strong but their shoulders started trembling, tears started falling down their cheeks.

 

They felt Rebecca’s embrace growing tighter, “It’s ok Nail. I’m ok.” An obvious lie, “I’m sorry… I’ve been such a burden for you lately.” She went quiet for a moment, “I’ll figure it out, I won’t keep coming to abuse your kindness…”

 

Nail felt their stomach dropping into a black pit, they shook their head, “You’re not! Please come back! I’ll heal you as much as you need, always!”

 

“I know you will… But you shouldn’t have to…” Rebecca’s voice broke into a whimper, her fingers digging into Nail’s back. 

 

The two stood in their embrace, frozen in time as they both cried out the frustration that had been building between them. The frustration of being a burden, of having lost control of one’s life and of desperately needing someone and being unable to admit it. And the frustration of seeing someone you love, going through that and being unable to help. 

 

“Please stay…” Nail’s voice was drowned in sobbing, barely coherent.

 

Rebecca paused, “For dinner.” She asserted.

 

Nail shook their head adamantly, “Forever! Please! You don’t have to go out there! You can live here!”

 

Rebecca went quiet, her arms around Nail being removed with a sigh. “I can’t.”

 

“Why not…!? You could! You could be happy here! … With me…!”

 

“Hidden from the Conclave… I’d have to stay at home all day waiting for you. I wouldn’t be able to do anything… I’d be your pet.”

 

It was Nail’s turn to go quiet, they thought about it for a moment, their mind racing desperately, knowing if Rebecca left like this, she might not come back. “I’ll move. I can live outside the Conclave and still be a Guildmage, then there’s no trouble with you living with me.”

 

“You shouldn’t go that far for me.”

 

“I want to!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because… Because I love you!” Fresh tears rolled down Nail’s face as they removed their head from her shoulder to look into her eyes with pleading desperation. 

 

Rebecca was stunned, her mind slowly rebooting itself, her eyes darting between Nail’s piercing eyes, and everywhere else. “I… I have to go back to the 6th…”

 

“Why?” they asked breathlessly.

 

Rebecca gave a soft sigh, “I… It’s hard to explain. But… I want to be… myself. I don’t want to rely on others… I have to be able to do this… Somehow.”

 

Nail ground their teeth, “But… Why do you have to do it alone…? Please, let me help you…!”

 

Rebecca sniffled, her hand finding Nail’s, squeezing it gently. “I have to do this alone… But… Maybe not all of it…” She looked up into Nail’s eyes, hesitantly moving forward to kiss the tall elf. When their lips touched, Nail froze, then pressed gently forward, their hands wrapping tighter around Rebecca. Their kiss tasted of tears, but it was warm, bittersweet.

 

“I don’t understand.” Nail said softly, finally breaking the embrace. They ran a hand across Rebecca’s cheek. “I don’t understand why you have to do this, but… I understand that you have to… I hope you’ll let me support you, even if it’s just a little.” 

 

Rebecca leaned desperately towards the hand, burying her face in it. “Yes… I’d like that.” She smiled lovingly up towards her elf. 

 

They embraced, ate and ended up sleeping curled up together, Rebecca getting her first full nights rest in recent memory. 


	10. Fair's fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, Pyre and Carmen enjoy the fair and it's cute ! ... Hopefully...

_ I wanted to go to this damn fair so much and I don’t remember why… Ugh… Why’d I have to run into someone I knew from Izzet? At an inventors fair… Where like, every person who has ever looked at a machine is going to be… Yeah ok, I see my mistake.  _

 

Pyre laughed triumphantly as she once again beat the Boros angel at yet another carnival game. Carmen could feel her blood boiling, she wasn’t angry, but she desperately wanted to win just once. This one should be straight forward, hit the servos with thrown balls as they scuttled across, she was good at it, better than Lance, but Pyre kept beating her by a frustratingly low margin, which she was starting to suspect was purposeful from the smug woman.

 

“One more time.” Carmen grit her teeth.

 

Pyre chuckled, “You sure? I can’t really carry anymore winnings, even if a lot of them can walk on their own.” She smiled as she gently stroked over a mechanical beetle which walked across her arm. 

 

“You won’t win one this time.” Carmen narrowed her eyes.

 

Pyre couldn’t help but laugh, “Sure, but when I win, you have to carry my things for me.”

 

“Fine!” 

 

* * *

  
  
  


“Woah C, you won so many prices.” Lance looked at the mount of things crawling and carried by the angel who grumbled in response. 

 

Pyre was all smiles, “No, she didn’t.” She said smugly, taking the ice cones from Lance meant for Carmen and her. “She really tried though, it was so cute.” 

 

Carmen could feel the frustration building but she had no rebuttal, which just made her teeth clench harder. She was interrupted in her thoughts by a cold sensation in front of her face. Pyre was holding the ice cone up to her, while feeding herself the other. 

 

Carmen ground her teeth, “I don’t want it.”

 

“Come on don’t be a sore loser, Lance bought these for us and it’s hot as balls today.” Pyre’s tone was only half teasing, but it was enough to make Carmen growl a little. 

 

She tried to figure out if she could possibly hold all of the ‘loot’ in a way that would free a hand, but it was a lost cause. She sighed deeply, accepting a bite of the flavored ice. The cold sensation going through her mouth surprised her, it even cleared her head up a little. 

 

“Never had ice cones before?” Pyre looked at her amused, making Carmen realize that the fascination and enjoyment must have been painted all over her face. 

 

“Well no… I’ve barely ever eaten anything, I don’t need to. But… This is alright.” She felt silly being fed by Pyre, but it slowly passed as the ice cooled her rage with every bite. So food served this kind of purpose too?

 

“No fair, I wanna feed C.” Lance interrupted jokingly.

 

“Wait your turn Lance, it took a long time to train the bird to be able to feed her by hand, you have to build up that kind of trust.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

 

The siblings started another joking discussion about Carmen, she elected not to listen, just eating her ice and letting the world wash away for a moment. It was clear that the siblings were getting along swimmingly, it warmed her heart, especially after seeing how lonely both Lance and Pyre had seemed when first she’d met them. So they were both a bit crude, so what? 

  
  


* * *

  
  


“You should go talk to her.” Pyre smiled mischievously at Lance. 

 

“What!? Noo... I couldn’t!” He ran an embarrassed hand through his hair.

 

“Come on, why not? You’ve been staring at her hard enough to burn through her goggles. Just talk to her.” Pyre encouraged teasingly.

 

Carmen watched Lance in quiet realization, she’d thought it was strange that he was staring with such interest at the vehicle, she’d never seen him staring like that, it had made her wonder if she could find a way to get him one. She was glad she’d found out he’d been staring at the inventor and not the invention before she made a fool of herself. 

 

“I mean… She’s working! I’m sure she doesn’t want to be disturbed while she’s exhibiting.” Lance dodged.

 

“You won’t know unless you try, come on you need to get laid, how long has it been?”

 

Lance’s eyes darted around, “Come on Pyre I mean… We’re here with Carmen, she doesn’t appreciate stuff like this.” He looked up to her desperately.

 

“Untrue, I agree with Pyre.” Carmen stated flatly, trying to hide the hint of a smile as the siblings were left stunned, “You’ve been cooped up for too long and you could stand to… ‘get laid’ as it were.” 

 

The siblings faces twisted almost in unison, Pyre’s into a broad smile and Lance into a betrayed frown. Carmen almost laughed. 

 

“Yeah, listen to our birdsister, go get it son.” She chuckled at him, gently pushing him towards the inventor. 

 

Carmen took a moment to take in the woman, the idea of being so mesmerized by someone just by looking at them was truly strange to her. She could tell that the inventor was pretty, ‘cute’, she would say. She was… Maybe around Pyre and Lance’s age? But human aging was so confusing. She was slender but her arms had some bulge, probably from the metalworking she clearly dedicated herself to. Her smile was sweet, that might be what attracted Lance, she seemed friendly, Carmen could see how someone would find a gentle smile attractive, but the other stuff? She shook her head, accepting that she wouldn’t be able to figure it out. 

 

“I’m not going. It’s silly, and I refuse to be pressured into making a fool of myself. I don’t want to disturb her, and unlike what you guys seem to think I don’t need to ‘get laid’ in order to be happy, I’m quite content thank you very much!” He huffed.

 

Pyre shrugged, “Fine, if you say so.” She looked at the inventor inspectingly, “I’m gonna go talk to her.”

 

“Don’t you dare!”

 

“Why not?” She asked with clear defiance.

 

“I don’t want you to try… ‘picking up chicks’ for me!”

 

“Pfft, don’t flatter yourself Lance,  _ I’m _ gonna go seduce her, you snooze you loose.” She stuck her tongue out at him, skipping towards the inventor. 

 

Carmen and Lance exchanged disbelieving looks. “Your sister… Is really something.” Carmen chuckled.

 

Lance laughed heartily, “Tell me about it. You wouldn’t believe how he used to be.”

 

“-She.”

 

“Right, sorry. But you know… She used to follow me around like a duckling. I was a little worried about her, that she was going to always be relying on others.” He sighed, watching Pyre as she started talking to the inventor. “I’m glad she seems so strong these days.” He smiled proudly.

 

Carmen and him watched as Pyre sat on the hood of the woman’s vehicle and started asking her interested questions. Of course, Lance couldn’t hear what they were talking about, since human perception was bafflingly weak. But listening to Pyre, Carmen was surprised by the clown’s expertize. She was asking specific questions about the machine in a way that showed that she was both interested and knowledgeable. The inventor seemed more than happy to have someone to talk to who would understand her explanations, apparently it was her first time exhibiting something and she’d been worried about being outshone, she was clearly relieved to have someone to talk to. 

 

The angel couldn’t help but be a little fascinated as Pyre moved the conversation from the vehicle to herself, to talking a little about the inventor. Carmen was more than familiar with Pyre’s flirtatious tone at this point, but it had a different quality here, as her normal words slowly began carrying that sultry undertone, the inventor seemingly reacting with a bit of interest, which caused Pyre’s tone to become more overt. Pyre reached out to stroke the woman’s arm gently, the touches going from rather innocent to clearly flirtatious as she made sure the inventor was into it. 

 

“I didn’t think you cared about stuff like this.” Lance interrupted her thoughts. 

 

“Relationships don’t interest me. But I’m realizing how many quiet subtleties are involved in human mating rituals… Or… Whatever such rituals would be called since Pyre and this inventor couldn’t technically ‘mate’.” 

 

“Well, as much of a woman as Pyre is, I think technically she still can.”

 

“Hm… I suppose that’s true.”

 

“Not that it matters, there’s no way she can just walk up to someone who is in the middle of something else and just-” Lance’s face twisted into a grimace as he watched Pyre pulling the inventor off somewhere private. 

 

Carmen was a little stunned as well. “The more I learn about this stuff, the less I realize I know.” She concluded with a sigh. 

 

Lance scratched his beard with clear disbelief in his eyes, “Yea, me too.” Lance crossed his 

arms, “She’s always been like this.” he said, clear exasperation on his smiling face. 

 

“I would hope not.” 

 

He chuckled, “No, not like that. Like… Able to do whatever she put her mind to. She picked up one skill after another, reading about whatever she could get her hands on and just mastering it in record time. I’d set a few records at the academy, but she shattered mine and most others'. She saw me as the best at everything and as the milestone to pass, but even at 14 she’d passed me in just about everything but swordfighting, so that was the only thing I ever let her compete with me in.” 

 

“You must have been so proud!” 

 

He looked at her a little surprised, “Well… Yeah, I was, very. But… It was also a little infuriating you know? Having a perfect little broth- sister, and knowing whatever I did, I’d probably end up being outshone by her when she finally decided to step out of the shadows.”

 

Carmen nodded slowly, “I don’t really understand. Why does it matter who amongst you are best, as long as both of you are doing great things and contributing?” 

 

Lance chuckled, “It shouldn’t, should it? But I felt a little inadequate. Like, ‘why can’t it be that easy for me?’ You know?”

 

She shook her head, “I don’t, I don’t understand why you would compare yourself to your own family that way. You weren’t in direct competition and you were moving into different fields.” 

 

He ran his tongue across his upper teeth for a moment, “I guess it’s how we were raised. To our parents, only the best was good enough. And my best  _ was  _ good enough, at least until Pyre decided to show that her best was better, suddenly they looked at me like I wasn’t pulling my weight, like I hadn’t been trying hard enough.” 

 

“But you were. They must have been able to see that?”

 

“You’d think that,” he shrugged, “But to them only results seemed to matter, and if Pyre was better than me, then I was retroactively inadequate. Suddenly Pyre was the golden child, and got everything she pointed to, which was mostly books, and I had to justify everything I did or wanted that wasn’t directly tied to my ‘progress’.” 

 

“That’s awful… I’m sorry, Lance, that must have been difficult.”

 

He sighed, “A bit frustrating, but it wasn’t like I didn’t have a good life. I think I was the one who was awful, though… Pyre looked up to me so much and I kind of resented her, I loved her of course, but part of me wanted to see her fail, to struggle with just anything. So… It made me kind of happy when I found out she was sneaking out to flirt with men. It wasn’t that I liked that she had to go through that, but… It was nice to know that she wasn’t perfect either, you know? That I wasn’t the only one with secret thoughts and things I was going through.”

 

Carmen leaned her head to the side, “I don’t really get it. But… I’m glad things seems to have worked out alright.”

 

He nodded, “We definitely took an off road to get here, but I think we landed somewhere pretty good.” He looked up at her, “It’s all thanks to you, so… Thank you C.”

 

She returned his smile, “I’m glad.” She paused for a moment, a little cluster of words getting caught in her throat, something she shouldn’t say, but wanted to. It shouldn’t be so tempting, it was obviously wrong, yet she found them barging out through her teeth somehow, “I’d like it if you called me Carmen.” She grit her teeth, what was she doing naming herself!? 

 

Lance blinked at her, “Sure, Carmen it is then. It’s a bit more natural to say too. I like it.” He smiled encouragingly.

 

She closed her arms tighter around herself. It made her strangely happy to hear him acknowledging her so easily, but she shouldn’t have done it, but he seemed to be fine with it? She felt stuck between what she was supposed to do and these strange things that made her so unreasonably happy, these strange acts which seemed to happen as soon as she let her guard down. Now she’d named herself, what kind of narcissist was she?

 

“Hey, uhm… Weird question…” Lance cleared his throat, bringing her out of the spiral of thoughts she’d gotten stuck in. Carmen sighed in relief, hoping to talk about something other than her sinful behavior. “Do you like my sister?”

 

She gave him a confused look, “Sure, why wouldn’t I?”

 

He hummed dissatisfied, “No, I mean… Do you ‘desire’ her? Like… Romantically.”

 

“Oh, in that sense. No. I don’t desire anyone, I’ve told you.” 

 

Lance nodded, she could see a bit of relief on his face.

 

Carmen felt a tiny bit of betrayal welling up inside her, “Would it be a problem if I did?”

 

“Well, no…” He looked away defensively, “You can like whoever you want.”

 

Carmen narrowed her eyes at him, a dim realization at the back of her mind, “Lance, your sister and you. You joke about desiring me.” 

 

He coughed, “Uh… Yea, I guess it sort of turned out that way… I’m sorry, I shou-”

 

“-Do you? Desire me?” She tried to sound professional but her tone came out accusing and harsh.

 

He averted his eyes, “I, uh…”

 

“So you do?”

 

He shook his head, “No! I mean… It’s more… Complicated than that.” She cocked her head to the side, her eyes growing less harsh. He shifted his weight a little, “I mean, you’ve been really nice to me since I joined the Boros Legion, you were one of the only people I talked to for awhile there, it’s gotten a lot better, but for over a month it was like you were the only person I could talk to.” He scratched the back of his neck, “So I guess for awhile there I did have a crush on you, because you were the only person in my life.”

 

Carmen shifted her head a little from one side to the other, trying to understand what he was saying, but coming up short. “And now?”

 

“Well… No offence, but you aren’t really my type. I mean, you’re beautiful, if you were a pretty girl I met out drinking I might talk to you. But… You aren’t the type of person I fall for, not the type of person I want to be with I think.”

 

Carmen took another moment to digest. “But isn’t the purpose of that ritual you describe to find a mate? I’m not sure I understand the difference.” 

 

He shook his head, “Well, when you’re out like that it’s more like you’re looking for someone to have a good time with, who wants to just have a good time with you. I mean, look at Pyre, I don’t think she’s ever going to talk to that girl she’s with again, and I don’t think either of them really want to. They are just having a nice time together. But that’s different from desiring a real relationship with someone.”

 

“So… You don’t desire a relationship with me, but you think that I, to use Pyre’s words, ‘would be a good lay’?” She couldn’t help but smile at the obvious strangeness of her saying something like that.

 

He laughed, “That’s about the long and short of it. And I’d love to lay with you, if you’re interested.”

 

“I’ll politely decline.”

 

He nodded, “Thought you might. Honestly it would be really messy, it can be hard to be friends with people you end up sleeping with.”

 

Carmen furrowed her brow, “Why?”

 

“I don’t know… It just seems to get complicated. It gets hard to distinguish between friendship and romance and it gets messy.” 

 

She nodded, “I suppose that makes sense.” She crossed her arms, taking a moment to go over in her head the things she’d just learned. “I’m glad that Pyre and you have found things to talk and joke about. But I don’t think I appreciate being one of them.” She gave him a harsh look. 

 

Lance shrunk at the glare, “Right… I got carried away with it. I’m honestly sorry C- Carmen, it won’t happen again.”

 

She smiled at him, “It’s okay, but it was starting to become grating. I was honestly hoping you’d stop on your own, but I suppose it was too much to ask.” She gave him a look of motherly disappointment which made him shrink further. 

 

“Sorry, Carmen. I’ll be better, I promise.” He rubbed the back of his head in defeat.

 

She smiled, “I’m glad, that’s all I want for you, both of you, that you try to be better.”

 

Lance gave a nervous smile in return, “You’re starting to sound like my mother.” 

 

She shrugged, “it sounds like your mother wasn’t a good influence on you. If I have to take over and correct some mistakes, I will.” She smiled at his fearful expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added a few Explicit chapters to this story. Since I didn't want to change the rating of the story I decided to add them to a separate story which I've added as part of the 'Stoking the Flames' collection. The first two chapters take place right before chapter 6 of this story and star Victor and Pyre as well as Pyre and her new girlfriend Sonya. 
> 
> The explicit chapters are full chapters, not just smutty smut, I hope to edit the smut out of them at some point and add them to this story, but I'll have to add them in between existing chapters... should be a joy.
> 
> Anyway, if you want more of this story and see a bit of how Pyre bangs, there you go.   
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/19321855

**Author's Note:**

> Well if anyone read this far, congrats <3
> 
> I didn't know where else to share this story, but I know the likelihood of it being seen based on the search tags are really small. Still, if you happened to read it and had any notes or thoughts, I would love to hear them, I really want to improve and any feedback is deeply appreciated. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!


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